Just Won't Die 10: Reborn
by OneShot
Summary: This is a Ranma/Neon Genesis Evangelion/BubbleGum Crisis/Slayers/Ah!Megami-sama crossover. Ranma had been corrupted by the powers he possessed and kills everyone but Shinji. Shinji is left alone to kill the man who trained him.


Jeffrey "OneShot" Wong

Just Won't Die 10: Reborn

Shinji didn't bother to look around to find out where he was. He knew he was clueless as to his whereabouts. All that he knew was that it was something in the late afternoon and he was in a world that was not his own. Not knowing where he was wasn't bothering all that much either. What really bothered him was what lead to him being sent to this world.  
"Goddamn," Shinji swore himself, walking down a random street. Judging by how busy it was, it was most likely a weekday afternoon, people on their way home after a hard day's worth of work.  
"What the hell am I gonna do?" he asked, fighting back tears, "Everyone's dead and I'm the only one left. Urd says I have to somehow beat Ranma. But how the hell am I gonna beat him? I've yet to ever hit him and now I have to beat him when he has the powers of God,"  
Shinji sighed. He needed someone to help explain things to him. He couldn't figure things out on his own, could he?  
"Ranma somehow went crazy," he said, scratch his head, "As to why, I have no idea. I'm sure Ritsuko would know but...she's dead, like everyone else,"  
A tear trickled down Shinji's cheek.  
"I'm all alone," he said in a very soft voice, "What am I going to do? In an instant, I lost everyone. Why am I the only one left? Wouldn'tve it be easier if I died along with 'em?"  
He paused as something dawned on him.  
"I-is this how Ranma felt after the 'Nerima Massacre'?"  
He shook his head, banishing the thought. This wasn't the time to be thinking or even feeling things. Somehow, he had been thrown in to a situation where Urd, as well as the existence of all that existed, depended on him.  
"God, why me?" he asked, "I can't do this!"  
Several passerbys stopped to look at the crazy young man. Why was he talking to himself?  
"Let's try and analyze everything," he said, "Everyone was killed because Ranma somehow went crazy. As to why he went crazy, I have no idea. However, it's gotta be the God-version breaking out and basically taking possession. I mean, why the heck would Ranma kill everyone?"  
"Shinji," came a voice.  
Shinji turned around and was very shocked to see Urd.  
"U-Urd!" he said in surprise and relief, "W-where did you come from?"  
"Sorry, I'm only dropping in for a bit," she said in a rushed voice, "Ranma's hot on my heels,"  
"W-what do you mean?"  
"What do you think? He's chasing me," she replied.  
Shinji looked around, wondering where Ranma was.  
Urd shook her head, "No. This is not that kinda chase. He's chasing me across worlds. I lost him somewhere around the beginning of time, but before long, he'll figure out where I went,"  
"H-how's he chasing you?" Shinji asked.  
Urd said, "How the hell do I know?"  
"I thought you were all-knowing," he commented.  
"I am," she said, "But not all-knowing in the sense that I know Ranma. I know fate. Everyone and everything is tied to fate. The problem is that Ranma, much like myself, isn't confined to the path of fate,"  
Shinji was silent. "You have no idea just how many worlds were knocked out of its path because Ranma showed up there, blew up a few things as he chased me," Urd said, "If I survive this, it's going to take me forever to fix everything up. Man, I wish I knew this was going to happen so I would've ended Ranma's life before this happened, but since he isn't tied to fate, I don't know anything about him or what's to come from him,"  
"You didn't know that this was going to happen?"  
"I just told you," she said, "Ranma's not tied to fate so I know as much about what he would do as you do. His fate was severed ever since he died and came back. He should've stayed dead,"  
"When?" Shinji asked, "Ranma died a few times already,"  
"The first time around," she said.  
"What?" he asked.  
She waved a dismissive hand, "That's not important. The thing is is that I don't have much time and I need to relay some important information to you. I hope I can clear things up,"  
"Hopefully," he said, "Because I'm seriously confused about everything,"  
"First off, everyone that you know, died," she began, "And, no, it wasn't Ranma's complete doing. It was actually me,"  
"Y-you?" Shinji's eyes widened.  
"Yes, me," she said, "At the very last moment, as the other Ranma's personality was surfacing, I tried to kill him off. Unfortunately, he walked away and the entire city was wiped out. You have nothing to worry about because I can bring them back, provided we get through this,"  
"What do you mean by that?" Shinji asked.  
"The Ranma we're facing now is the God-version of Ranma from before," Urd said, "However, as if we weren't in big enough trouble dealing with something like that, this Ranma happens to have the fighting abilities of the Ranma you know. To put it simply, picture having to go up against an evil version of Ranma with powers tantamount to my own,"  
"Damn," Shinji said, "How is Ranma evil? I mean, why's he doing this?"  
"This Ranma's not evil," Urd said, "He's suicidal. All he wants is death. He's basically the corruption of power that festered within the Ranma you knew. When you left, the corruption took form and split from Ranma, but is nonetheless, Ranma in essence,"  
"So why don't you kill him?" Shinji asked, "Why do I hafta be the one?"  
"I keep telling him that," Urd said, "I keep telling him that I'll be more than happy to kill him off but he wants none of it. I really don't know why he's like that. I assume it's because he doesn't want to risk my remaining alive and bringing him back,"  
"How can someone hate life that much?" Shinji asked, "Is it possible to have that much resentment for oneself?"  
Urd nodded, "Yes. That Ranma's a living example of just that,"  
"All because of society, huh?" Shinji asked.  
Urd shrugged, "I assume so. However, with Ranma, I can't really tell. I think it might be something even deeper than that but that's the best I can think of at the moment,"  
"Deeper?"  
Urd nodded, "Ranma's always been partially suicidal, even before the incident where he became God. It seems he prefers death to life,"  
"What? Really?" Shinji's eyes widened.  
"Yeah," Urd said, "You remember hearing about how Ranma died?"  
Shinji nodded, "Yes. This was after he came back with Asuka after preventing Second Impact on the other world. One of his ribs punctured his heart and he died the night after he came back,"  
Urd shrugged, "I guess we could use that as an example as well. With that one, what no one knows is that Ranma could've survived that night,"  
"H-he could've!"  
Urd nodded, "Yes. I was the one that came down and talked to him while he sat on the hospital bed,"  
"W-whoa! Whoa! whoa! Back it up! Are you serious?" Shinji gasped.  
"Yes," she said, "I showed up in front of him that night and offered to let him live. I was particularly intrigued by him, what with the accomplishments he had done. He was a normal human and he prevented Second Impact on another world which saved billions. That's one heck of an accomplishment. As a favor, as well as my respect for him and what he's done, I offered to heal him. I told him that if he doesn't accept my help, he will die,"  
Shinji gulped.  
"Ranma purposely declined my offer," she said, a bit sad, "It stunned me at first because I wasn't expecting him to choose that path. Of course, I didn't know that he would choose such a path since I was nothing more than a goddess then. The thing is is that he choose death over life,"  
Shinji was silent.  
"Of course, the Ranma born from Unit-01 on the world where Second Impact didn't know that that Ranma chose that choice and went on living. The point is is that given the choice, he would choose death over life,"  
"But why?"  
Urd shrugged, "I don't know. It's probably got something to do with him swearing to himself after the 'Nerima Massacre',"  
"What did he swear?"  
"That he would avenge the deaths of his friends and loved ones," she said, "He would not rest until then. Since he did do that after he came back to Japan after a decades long training trip, he basically became a wanderer waiting for death. Keep in mind his life centered around avenging his friends' and family's death. He did that long ago so he accomplished what he had set out to do,"  
"If he wanted death so bad, why didn't he just kill himself?" Shinji wondered why he would ask such a question. Meeting Ranma was one of the best things that had ever happened to him. To have him kill himself and not meet him disturbed Shinji.  
Urd said, "Ranma's got the willpower to rip out his own heart if he wanted to. However, he's not the type of person to take his own life. He would rather someone take it for him,"  
Shinji thought about it for a moment. He remembered seeing Ranma jamming an index finger right in to his forearm without a hesitation as well as commented about he actually could rip out his own heart if he wanted to. What didn't makes sense was that if Ranma never wanted to take his own life, there was an incident where he did try.  
"Then how come that other Ranma tried to kill himself with the Lance of Longinus?" Shinji asked, "If Ranma's against killing himself, then that kinda contradicts his personality,"  
"That's probably because of that Ranma's personality," Urd shrugged, "From what I believe, Ranma's suicidal tendencies seemed to be more predominant with that Ranma because of the life he lived,"  
Shinji rubbed at his temples, "This is just too much to take. I feel like things are moving too fast,"  
"Things are moving at light speed," Urd smirked, "But you're gonna hafta accept it whether you like it or not,"  
Shinji sighed, "But I don't even know what I'm supposed to do,"  
"You need to find the Ranma of this world," Urd said, "And get him to help you,"  
"There's so many Ranmas. I'm confused," Shinji commented.  
"There're only two Ranmas you need to worry about," Urd said, "There's the Ranma you need to somehow find a way to kill before he kill me. And then there's the Ranma of this world, the one you helped out not too long ago that stabbed himself with the Lance of Longinus. Although this is an alternate Ranma of the one you helped, he's still basically the exact same person, every bit as cold and powerful,"  
"What about the Ranma that I know?" Shinji asked, "The one that has been training me all this time?"  
Urd gave a sad look, "He doesn't exist anymore, at least his personality doesn't exist anymore. His was basically replaced by the Ranma you need to face now,"  
"What happened to the Ranma I know?" Shinji asked again.  
"Like I said. He's gone," Urd said, "He's basically died without physically dying,"  
"No," Shinji found himself about to cry.  
"At least your friend Ranma finally got what he wanted, death,"  
At that moment, in the middle of a very busy intersection, a blue portal opened up. From that portal emerged Ranma. Several cars swerved out of the way, hitting in to various objects, a massive pile up ensuing.  
Ranma didn't so much as flinch.  
"Fuck, he found me," Urd said, the worry in her voice genuine.  
She turned toward Shinji.  
"I gotta go," she said, "Somewhere on this world exist the Ranma that can help. It's up to you to find him and get him to give you his powers. I don't know how you're going to do it, but you're going to have to. Everything depends on you,"  
Shinji gulped.  
A massive spherical energy blast came rocketing right toward Shinji and Urd from Ranma's direction.  
Shinji, in a moment of panic, instinctively tried to block it, not knowing what would happen if it struck him. Luckily, Urd was there and used her divine powers to deflect it.  
The blast ended up getting deflected toward the sky where it disappeared high in to the heavens, so powerful that it would continue on its travel path forever.  
"Good luck, Shinji," Urd said, "I'm counting on you,"  
With that said, Urd opened up her own portal and disappeared.  
Shinji watched as Ranma approached him.  
He narrowed his eyes at the young man, "Where did she go?"  
"I-I-I don't know," he stammered, overwhelmed by the aura of power surrounding Ranma that he ended falling back on to his backside.  
Ranma stared at Shinji for a moment, not recognizing him. Shinji immediately noticed this. He realized that the Ranma standing before him was not the person he knew. All he was was a mere personality, an unstoppable driving force.  
"Hmph!" Ranma let out an annoyed breath.  
At that moment, a portal opened up right next to Ranma. Without so much as saying another word, Ranma disappeared through the portal.  
Shinji found himself gasping for air. He had never been so terrified in his life. There was an aura to Ranma that was absolutely paralyzing.  
It made him wonder what the heck role he had been thrown in to so suddenly. "H-how t-the hell am I supposed to beat that guy?"  
new stuff 10/22

Shinji blushed as he noticed several people watching him as he rummaged through a garbage can located by the corner of a busy intersection.  
"This is embarrassing," he told himself, sifting through the trash, ignoring the foul stench emanating from refuse. Even though it was embarrassing, it was for a good reason.  
Shinji's stomach rumbled. This made him realize that he was hungry. The last time he recalled eating was late in the evening when he was with Luna on that other world, before they found Emiko and went home and found out what had happened to Ranma. That meant he hadn't eaten in a few days and he should get something to eat shortly.  
"God, this stench is making me lose my appetite," he said, pinching his nose. Luckily, he was careful enough not to get his hands very dirty as he only touched the 'clean' looking garbage in the can.  
After a short moment of searching, he found what he was looking for, a discarded newspaper.  
He opened it up and quickly checked for the date. It only took him a moment to determine the current date of that world since the newspaper had the date on every page.  
"Hm, it's only a year later than when I was last on this world," Shinji commented, "But then again, I was never actually on this world before since this world was recreated and the Ranma that exist on this world had never met me. Ranma wouldn't even know who I am since he was reborn all over again and remembers nothing about what had happened between him and I and those Angels and everyone else,"  
Shinji wondered if that was a good or bad thing. It was most likely a good thing. Sure, if Ranma remembered Shinji, Shinji would most likely have more of a chance of receiving help from him since he wouldn't be view as some random stranger, however, if Ranma did remember everything, it would be much worse since he would also remember having been reborn when he specifically requested to be removed from existence in exchange for his help.  
"Damn, this is all messed up," Shinji sighed, "Either way, it's a lose-lose situations. If Ranma doesn't remember anything, it would be extremely hard to get his help. If he remembered everything, he would most likely be trying to kill the Ranma I know for breaking his word and having him reborn,"  
He banished the thought from his head. That was a trivial matter. What mattered was that reborn Ranma of this world would probably be only a year older than when he met the previous version of him. If that was the case, then Ranma was most likely still attending college.  
"Damn, what college does he attend?" Shinji scratched his head, "Heck, where the heck does he live? I don't even know what town he lives in!"  
Those were huge details that he was never told. It also didn't help that Shinji had no idea which city he had appeared in.  
His stomach rumbled again.  
He needed food.  
Actually, he also needed a shower.  
He reeked and needed a change of clothes. Unfortunately, that was something he would have to worry about later.  
Right now, he needed something to eat.

"Excuse me, but can you tell me where I am?"  
The school girls gave Shinji an odd look like he was crazy.  
Shinji had approached two school girls as they were on their way home from school. He assumed they were school girls since they were dressed in what looked like a school uniform. At least some aspects of Japan hadn't changed over time.  
He couldn't help but feel a bit relieved that he had trained himself before to be able to talk to girls or random strangers for that matter. Ranma had instilled in him the courage to talk to strangers. The only people he used to be good at talking to were his friends and he always struggled talking to people he didn't know. What was surprising was that this was only a few months ago.  
Thank goodness, this was no longer the case.  
The two girls regarded Shinji for a moment, assessing him. The noticed he looked like a normal person. But then again, crazy people tended to look normal.  
"Can you tell me where I am?" Shinji asked once again. Perhaps they didn't hear him the first time around.  
"What do you mean?" one girl asked.  
"What city is this?" he asked, slightly embarrassed, "Um, I'm visiting this country and have no idea where I am,"  
"That's strange, your Japanese seems to indicated otherwise," one girl smirked, "Where are you visiting from?"  
"It's unimportant," Shinji said.  
"You're in Mizukan," the other girl answered.  
"Can you tell me where that is?" Shinji asked, "I have no idea where this town is. Is there a major city nearby?"  
"Well, this town's neighbors with Tokyo," a girl answered, pointing toward a giant structure, "If you see that giant building over there, that's Tokyo Tower,"  
Shinji gazed over where the girl was pointing. After a moment, he broke out in laughter. How come he didn't figure that out in the first place? "Thanks," he said, "I feel a bit stupid having realized this afterwards. However, I appreciate your help,"  
"Okay," the girls went on their way.  
Shinji bopped himself on the top of the head at how stupid he was. He still had a long way to go before he became independent and could figure things out on his own.  
"That guy's weird," he heard one of the girls comment. It seems she and her friend hadn't been aware that they were totally out of earshot from where Shinji was.  
"Yeah, and he smells, too," the other girl added.  
Shinji sighed.

Shinji was very self-conscious of himself as he waited on line at a fast food place. He wondered how many people around him were holding their breaths and not saying anything about how badly he smelled.  
"Great, my diet goes right out the door," he muttered to himself. He had nothing much to complain about. Actually, he should kick himself for complaining. It was all because of Ranma and Akane that he ate right. If it weren't for them, he would not have been on a strict diet. Besides, something like dieting for an upcoming boxing match seemed very trivial given his current situation.  
He laughed, finding the situation humorous in a very disturbing way. How could one not find it funny in a sick and twisted way? Just when the thought he was going to be living the life of a normal guy his age, his life is turned upside down.  
He had believed he had his life figured out. He would grow up to become an excellent boxer and make a name for himself, earning his keep teaching martial arts at Ranma's dojo until then. When he graduated from Tokyo University with a degree in Electrical or Computer Engineering, he would become a working man, a productive member of society. By his side would be Emiko, every step of the way, the girl he didn't realize that he loved until he realized he had almost lost her. Too bad that after he realized this, she had been killed shortly after along with all everyone.  
A tear trickled from his eyes. Although Urd said she could make thing all right after all of this was over, he knew, deep down inside, that he would never be the same. He wiped the tear away before anyone could see him and banished his feelings. He needed to steel himself. Too much was at stake and everyone, even Urd, depended on him.  
When it was Shinji's turned to order, he ordered some random items, ordering a meal that seemed the most nutritious out of all the choice. Of course, it was still no where near as nutritious as when he was used to eating and his body most likely needed, it was better than nothing.  
When Shinji tried to pay for his meal, a problem occurred.  
"I'm sorry, but we only accept Japanese currency," the young female cashier said, looking at the odd looking pieces of paper Shinji had put forth.  
"Huh? This is," he said.  
After a moment, he came to the realization that the Japanese currency on this world was different from the one on his world. Not wanting to hold up the line, he sighed and said, "I'm sorry. I don't have any money,"  
Sadly, a hungry Shinji walked off.  
"Excuse me, but can you spare some change?"  
Shinji felt very self-conscious of himself as he basically begged for money. He was standing by the corner of a busy intersection doing so. Coincidently, it was the same corner where he was last seen rummaging through the garbage.  
"Sorry," a businessman promptly dismissed him and continued on.  
Shinji felt himself getting more and more angry with every passing minute and failed attempt. What the heck was wrong with society that people would not help a person asking for some loose change so he could eat.  
"Ew, get away from me," a young woman said before she quickly picked up her young child, a little girl, and headed off. He sighed. Some role model the child's mother was. The child was most likely in kindergarten and the mother was setting a bad example for the child, making the little girl think it was all right dismiss helping people when in need of help.  
Goddamn, I just want some money for food, Shinji thought. I'm just a little bit dirty and people think I'm some kinda homeless bum or a psycho.  
It took Shinji almost an hour before he managed to beg enough money from random strangers to buy himself a meal. By the time he had enough, he found himself seriously disgusted with how society could be. I'm trying to save the damn universe and people are too selfish to even help me out, Shinji thought with a bit of contempt.  
"Hm, I wonder why my stomach stopped rumbling," he asked himself, "It was rumbling before but it seemed to have stopped,"  
He dismissed the thought and walked off. With enough money at hand, Shinji went to a nearby deli that he had passed that he had missed before. Going inside, he ordered his meal, a simple sandwich that was significantly more nutritious than what that fast food place had to offer.  
After eating, Shinji noticed that it was starting to get dark. He contemplated going out and seeking Ranma's whereabouts but he needed to worry about finding a place to stay and a clean pair of clothes. He didn't want to sleep in the street or remain in those dirty clothes of his.  
Shinji started thinking. Man, staying at Ranma's place all this time has made me realize just how much I took something like shelter for granted. Ranma had given me a place to stay without asking for anything in return. I'm probably in the same situation as Ranma when he went through the 'Nerima Massacre'. How did Ranma deal with all of this? Did he beg for money for food as well? Did he sleep in the streets?  
He dismissed the thought. That was unimportant. What he needed to do now, now that he had eaten, was start coming up with a place on how and where to find Ranma.

Shinji fumbled around working the phone booth.  
"Damn, I wish this thing had a phone book," he muttered, "It's easier looking through something like that than figuring out how this damn machine works,"  
Shinji was standing inside of a phone book and in front of a payphone. Heck, it didn't even look like a payphone. It looked more like some kind of computer with a touch-sensitive screen that had a receiver hanging on the left side of its screen.  
Shinji spent a good deal time trying to figure out how to use the machine. It seems the payphone was networked with a database located elsewhere that kept track of names and phone numbers. All he had to do was figure out how to access it since it was a free service.  
"Damn, and I'm supposed to be good with computers," he sighed, "Nene and Ritsuko both showed me how to use a computer really well but this stuff looks too advanced to figure out quickly,"  
It took Shinji a good half an hour before he came to the realization that he didn't know how to figure out how to bring up the booth's version of a phone book.  
"Excuse me, but can you help me?" Shinji stepped out and asked a random stranger, a man on his way home after working late.  
"Sorry, but I'm busy," the man didn't so much as look at Shinji.  
"Damnit! I just want to use the phone!" Shinji snapped, "What's so goddamn important that hafta do that you can't help me out with something simple like that?"  
The man was taken aback by Shinji's sudden show of exasperation. Shinji calmed himself down and sighed, "Sorry. I didn't meant to get angry at you. I'm under a lot of stress,"  
The man said nothing, seemingly frightened.  
"Can you please show me how to use the phone?" Shinji asked in a soft voice, "I'm looking for a person and I figured I can find him if I looked him up in the phone book,"  
"Phone book?" the man asked nervously.  
"Y'know, that thing that has the phone numbers and addresses of people," Shinji answered.  
"Oh," the man said. He didn't dared to correct Shinji and tell him that it was referred to simply as 'Database'.  
"Can you show me how to use it?" Shinji asked.  
The man nervously nodded and showed Shinji how to use the display screen, pressing several buttons. Shinji made careful note of what parts of the display screen the man touched. Within seconds, a search window could be seen where a name could be put in.  
"Um, w-what's the name you're looking for?" the man asked, figuring it was best to type it in himself. The faster he could have Shinji find what he was looking for, the faster the man could be on his way.  
"Ranma," Shinji answered.  
"Huh?"  
"His name is 'Ranma'," Shinji repeated, "He doesn't have a last name,"  
The man smirked, "Is this some kinda joke? Am I on some kind of hidden video show?"  
Shinji didn't seem amused, "No,"  
The man, noticing Shinji's expression, quickly turned his attention back on to the screen and did a search for it.  
I forgot, Shinji said, the name 'Ranma' is some kinda cursed name on this world. That's because that's the same name of the 'guy' that tried to supposedly destroy this world over a hundred years ago when he 'tried' to cause Third Impact. Heh, it's too bad that it seems no one here but myself know the truth, that Ranma did cause Third Impact and this whole world was recreated thinking that had had failed.  
"Um, t-there are no matches," the man said.  
Shinji looked at the screen and noticed a 'No matches found' in bold display on the screen for the name 'Ranma'.  
He sighed, "Thanks,"  
"C-can I go now?" the man asked.  
"Yeah," Shinji said, "Thanks for you help, I really appreciate-,"  
Shinji didn't even manage to finish his sentence before he realized the man had took off and was already out of earshot. He turned his attention back toward the phone. Looking at the screen, he wondered what he should do now. Finding Ranma's name in a phone book had been Shinji's only plan. Unfortunately, since there were no matches, he was back at square one.  
Shinji began pacing around as he brainstormed on what to do now. He knew Ranma hung out with a girl named Jun but he had no idea what her last name was. Figuring that that was at least something to go by, he decided to do a search for that name. He gasped when he noticed how many matches there were.  
"Damn, there's over a million Jun," he said, "There's no way I can single out the one I'm looking from a list of over a million...can I?"  
He scratched his head, trying to figure a way of narrowing the list down.  
"Hm, perhaps I can narrow the field down based on age," he said, "I noticed that in the search criteria,"  
Shinji fumbled with using the machine, managing to fumble his way to the screen that gave him the ability to put in certain constraints in the search.  
"Jun was in college with Ranma so that means she should be somewhere around eighteen to twenty one," he said, typing it in on the screen.  
He checked out some of the other criteria and noticed that there was a massive amount of constraints one could put on the search. He had the ability to give in constraints on height, weight, eye color, hair color, race, and gender.  
"Hm, maybe it wouldn't be all that hard narrowing the field down," Shinji said.  
To the best that he could, he inputted his appropriate guess for those fields, hoping it would help him out significantly.  
When the screen displayed the constrained matches that fit his search, he found himself a bit disconcerted about his quest to find Jun. He found himself looking at a screen that had roughly eighty three thousand possible matches, an impossible task for him to do.  
"Damnit! If I knew what he last name was, it would probably narrow the field down to one or two people! I'm under enough stress as it already is! Why can't I have it easy for a change?" Shinji punched the screen in anger. To his surprise, his fist ended up crashing through the screen.  
"Oh no!" he gasped, noticing smoke billowing out from the fist sized display screen. The display screen was no longer shone, having shorted out.  
Shinji quickly looked back and forth, hoping that there weren't many people nearby that saw him. Unfortunately, several people did see him and had stopped to stare at him.  
Shinji looked around, hoping there were no police officers nearby that would try to arrest him for destruction of public property, even if it was purely accidental on his behalf.  
It only took him a second to realize that there had been a police officer nearby.  
"You! Stop right where you are!" the man said.  
Shinji didn't bother to stay around and find out how much trouble he was in if he got caught.  
Without so much as a second though, Shinji ran away.

Shinji found himself in Tokyo before he knew it.  
He had never intended to head to Tokyo but figured it was better to be in a city he would be more familiar with, even if it wasn't a city he recognized. To him, being in a place like Tokyo, no matter how different, still made him feel like he had at least some control over what was going on.  
Once there, he took a moment to survey his surroundings.  
Tokyo looked nothing like MegaTokyo. The cars didn't even look like cars. They looked so technologically advanced that the cars he saw in MegaTokyo looked ancient in design and architecture.  
After a moment of looking about, he decided it was best to think of the situation at hand, the need to find Ranma.  
"There's no way I can locate Jun out of that massive list and Ranma's name can't be found," Shinji said to himself, pacing back and forth in front of a random building, His eyes widened, "Wait a minute! This world is an alternate future of the world where I came from. I remember Ranma mentioning that he met the Asuka of this world while he was here trying to cause Third Impact. Maybe, just maybe, she's still alive. She'd be almost a hundred years old now, but it's still worth a try,"  
Shinji headed off in a random direction, hoping to find a phone booth somewhere along the way. He knew that if the Asuka of this world was even half as strong a person as the one he knew, she would most likely keep her own family name rather than assume the name of her husband like how it was usually done in society.  
It took around ten minutes before Shinji came across a phone booth. He fumbled with using the search engine of the machine, needing a minute to recall how that man had gone about selecting the search engine. When he found out what it was, he put in the name 'Asuka Soryu Langley' for the name. "Yes!" he cheered when he found a match.  
To his surprise, the address shown indicated that she lived right here in Tokyo.  
Shinji knocked on the door to the apartment building that believed to the Asuka Soryu Langley of that world. What was really surprising was that if she was the same Asuka that met up with Ranma on this world when he was trying to cause Third Impact, then that meant she would be somewhere around eighty-seven years old now. What was really surprising was that if she was that old, why would she be located at some random apartment building. Sure, it was an apartment at an extravagant-looking apartment in an upscale portion of Tokyo, but that didn't excuse the fact that a woman her age would be living in such an area. Shouldn't she be in some kind of retirement home?  
His heart was racing. He wondered what the heck he was going to say to her. Although they had never actually met, he believed he knew her really well.  
The door opened after a minute to reveal a young-looking woman with long flowing red-hair. She looked like a splitting image of the Asuka he knew. The only difference was that she looked older and much more mature than the one he knew.  
"A-Asuka?" Shinji's eyes widened, a flood of emotions. It felt like he was seeing the Asuka he knew once again as if he was seeing her alive after seeing her dead not too long ago.  
"D-dad?" she looked at the Shinji, her eyes widening.  
"Huh?" Shinji asked.  
The woman brought her hand up to her mouth and gasped, in a state of shock, "God, you look exactly like my late father when he was young,"  
"Um, s-sorry, but you're mistaken," Shinji said, a bit weirded out, "Would you happen to be Asuka Soryu Langley?"  
The woman nodded, "Yes, I am. How do you know who I am? What's your name?"  
"My name's Shinji Ikari," he said.  
Shinji scratched his head. Something wasn't right. Asuka did not look like she was eighty. She looked to be around thirty.  
"That's funny, you have the same name as my father," she commented.  
"I'm really really confused here," he said, "Aren't you the same person that traveled with a man named Ranma?"  
"Ranma?" the woman asked.  
"Yes, Ranma," Shinji said, "Didn't you go to Antarctica with Ranma?"  
"Antarctica, no," she said, "I've never been to Antarctica before. The only person that's been there was my...Ranma! Now I recognize that name! My mom knows a guy by that name. I heard her mention his name a long time ago. My mom and I have the same name. You must be looking for her,"  
Shinji said, "Oh! Now I get it. I was getting confused. I was expecting to meet someone from back then who would be around eighty. You only look to be around thirty,"  
"Wow, do I look that young?" the woman smiled, flattered. "Why, how old are you?" he asked.  
The woman narrowed her eyes toward Shinji, "What kinda question is that?"  
"Sorry," Shinji held his hands up defensively. It seemed this woman was Asuka's descendent. This gave reason as to why she looked much like the Asuka he knew.  
"What's all this about?" she asked, "How come you're looking for my mom? It also doesn't explain why you have the same name as my father,"  
Shinji suddenly realize something, "Your father's name is also Shinji Ikari?"  
She nodded, "Yes,"  
"Oh my god! I'm your father!"

Shinji was deep in thought as she took a shower.  
He was taking a shower in Asuka's apartment, she having invited him. When she noticed how much he smelled, she told him to go take a shower. Her basically telling him what to do made him realize this Asuka was very much like the Asuka he knew.  
"God, she's looks to be around the same age as Priss and Misato and the others," Shinji commented, "She's the daughter of the Asuka I was looking for. Her mother was the one that went with Ranma to Antarctica. However, her mother had passed away long ago. Also, her father, the alternate version of myself, passed away long before her,"  
When he was done with his shower, he put on a clean pair of clothes that belonged to used to belong to one of her sons. It turned out that this Asuka was a lot older than she indicated, having already raised a family, her kids already grown up and having moved out.  
She didn't live alone either, her husband, a man with a name Shinji didn't recognize, working late.  
Shinji headed in to the dining area where he was pleasantly surprised to see that Asuka had prepared a quick meal for him while he showered. The meal looked like a pasta-based meal which looked delicious.  
Seeing this made him realize that perhaps the Asuka of this world was a bit different from the Asuka he knew. This was probably because she never grew up piloting an EVA or having a troubled childhood. That trait seemed to have been passed down to her daughter.  
"Wow," Shinji said, "You made all of this?"  
Asuka smile, "Yes. Hope you're hungry. Please, have a seat and dig in,"  
"Um, thanks," he said without hesitation. He sat down adjacent to Shinji and watched as he began eating.  
"So, tell me, what's an alternate version of my father doing on this world?" she asked.  
Shinji blushed slightly, a bit embarrassed, "Um, c-can you not consider me that? I mean, from where I come from, the Asuka and I never married,"  
"Okay,"  
"First off, you're not weirded out by my being here?" Shinji asked, "I figure that my telling you that I'm from an alternate world would weird you out. It's not something you expect to hear,"  
Asuka said, "Well, I am a bit confused as to why you're here. However, I'm keeping an open-mind. Considering the stories I've heard about and read about in textbooks when I was young about how this world used to be attacked by so-called Angels, something like you being from another world isn't all that far-fetched, no matter how shocking,"  
Shinji smiled, "I'm glad you think like that,"  
Asuka leaned forward in her chair, paying him her undivided attention.  
"Just curious, your mother and I...I mean the Shinji Ikari of this world, how did they meet?" he asked.  
"In school," Asuka said, "If I recall what she told me about correctly, after she got back from Antarctica, she became the center of attention for what she had done. Afterall, she was known as the girl that stopped Third Impact. Before long, she got fed up with so much attention that she wanted to be a normal person once again. My father was one of the few people that didn't seem to see her more than as a classmate of hers back then and I guess she grew to like him because of that. Although they had gone to high school together, then ended up getting together when they found themselves attending the same college,"  
Shinji thought about it for a moment. That sounded a bit like how he was. He was good friends with Priss, a world-famous rockstar, but only saw her as a friend and not how the world viewed her, a rockstar.  
"If I remember correctly, my mom actually disliked my dad at first," Asuka said, "However, over time, he grew on her and they eventually fell in love,"  
"Wow," Shinji said.  
"You seem really interested in hearing about this," Asuka commented.  
"That's because I'm basically that same Shinji but from an alternate world," Shinji gave a meek smile, "And I'm also friends with your mother, also from an alternate world. It's just very surprising that your mother and father, fell in love because the two of us are only friends. Actually, we're good friend, but I think she thinks otherwise or at least never cares to admit it. But then again, why we didn't end up together is probably because she has a crush on Ranma,"  
Shinji paused for a moment. He did recall having a crush on Asuka once a while back but he grew out of it, somewhere around the time when he and the others were basically forced to leave their world and go to Ranma's since their city of Tokyo-3 had been destroyed. "Well, I think my mom always had a thing for this guy named Ranma but I don't really know what," Asuka said, "I don't mean offend my father, but I have a funny feeling my mom settled for him," "Settled for me? You mean I was a second choice?" Shinji asked, a bit surprised. When he realized he was getting upset over nothing. It was probably because of Ranma. Asuka had probably been in love with Ranma and ended up settling for the Shinji of this world. Hee said softly, "Sorry, I guess, indirectly, I feel like your father and I are alike,"  
Asuka regarded Shinji for a moment.  
"Well, you two look much alike," Asuka said, "However, you seem to be less, I dunno, quiet. My dad was usually shy and quiet. You seem less so,"  
"Oh, that's how I was several months ago," Shinji said, "I guess that's because of some of the training I'm undergoing that's changing me. Also, the fact that I'm in such a situation is bond to change a guy as well. So tell me, um, if you don't mind, can you tell me a bit about your mom and dad?"  
"What is it you would like to hear?" she asked.  
"Anything," he said.  
"Well, both of went to Tokyo University," Asuka said, "My parents did different majors but, I guess by accident, met up with one another. They started hanging out and eventually got together and married,"  
"Oh,"  
"My dad died a year before my mom. He died in a car accident," she said softly, a bit saddened at having to remember what happened, "A man ran a red light and hit my father as he was on his way home from work. My mom died of old age,"  
"I'm sorry to hear that," Shinji said in a sad voice.  
"It's okay," Asuka gave a forced smile, "They both lived a full and happy life,"  
Shinji said nothing.  
"Anyway, I think I've talked enough," she said, "How about you tell me a bit about yourself and why you're here? Tell me everything that's happened that led up to this. Also, I don't want you leaving out any details,"  
"Like what?"  
"I don't know," Asuka said, "I hope you don't try and keep the truth from me and fib about what you've got to tell me,"  
Shinji sighed, "As much as I would like to tell you, I think it'd be much more trouble if you knew the truth. I know it's good to know everything, but something so profound as what I know about this world, for you to know it might just change your life. For the better or for the worse, I have no idea and wouldn't want to risk it,"  
"I'm willing to take the risk,"  
"Are you absolutely sure?" Shinji asked.  
"My mom came from a time when her classmates piloted EVAs to fight against Angels," Asuka said, "I've got a pretty open mind,"  
Shinji sighed, "Okay, if you insist. Your mom killed a man named Ranma, right?"  
"Yes," she nodded.  
"She supposedly killed Ranma at the very last moment before he caused Third Impact," he continued, "Well, she never succeeded and this whole world was destroyed in the process. Fortunately, Ranma recreated it like nothing had happened and made it seem so that he died in the process when, in reality, he had succeeded and simply altered this world in a way so that it seemed like he died trying,"  
"Wait, you're telling me that this is some kind of recreated world?"  
"Actually," Shinji gave a meek smile, "That was back then. This world is a recreation of that recreation. This world was recreated a second time. The difference is that Ranma is no longer God,"  
"What!"  
"The world before this recreated one suffered world-wide destruction," Shinji said, "You know Unit-01?"  
"Yes, it's on display of it in Tokyo Museum," Asuka commented, trying to take in what she was hearing.  
"Well, on that world, Unit-01 was self-destructed in an attempt to kill Ranma," Shinji commented, "Unfortunately, it didn't kill him and it ended up knocking the planet slightly out of orbit. Millions were killed in the process, and as to the long terms effects of the planet's orbit being altered, I have no idea,"  
Asuka found herself needing to sit down.  
"Ranma was the catalyst that caused all of this," Shinji said, "Luckily, we were around and make things turn out nowhere near as badly as it could've been. We even managed to have him recreate this world, minus the reason why everything had occurred,"  
"What reason is that?"  
"Ranma of the world back then was God and roaming this world," Shinji said.  
Asuka said, "You lost me,"  
"That's how it was in the other world," Shinji said, "With this world, the recreated one of the recreated one, Ranma has the power of God but isn't necessarily God so this world will never undergo the trials that the other one underwent. I'm here to find him because I need his help,"  
Asuka scratched her chin, "You know what's strange? My daughter knows a guy named Ranma. I wonder if he might be the same person," "What?" Shinji's eyes widened.  
"I remember a while ago, my daughter, Jun, mentioned about how she knew a guy named Ranma. She told me this because it was very odd how someone could have such a name as that,"  
"You're kidding me, right?" Shinji gasped. Asuka shook her head, "No. Jun knows a guy named Ranma that's in her class. They go to college together. I met him once. This was about a year ago once when she brought him home when we used to live in Hokkaido,"  
"W-whoa. Jun's your daughter?" Shinji gasped.  
"Why, do you know her?" she asked.  
"Yeah!" Shinji said, "I was on this world, actually, a different version of this world, not too long ago and remembered her and Ranma being together,"  
Asuka seemed very surprised, "Wow, that's one heck of a coincidence,"  
"You're telling me," Shinji said. He scratched his head, "You have a house in Hokkaido?"  
Asuka shook her head, "Not anymore. We used to. When Jun moved out around half a year ago, we sold the house and moved here. We moved here because we've got relatives that live here and it's a lot closer to her college. Usually, she comes to Tokyo to visit some relatives before taking a plane up to Hokkaido where we used to live. Living here we considered killing two birds with one stone,"  
"Oh man, I never suspected that Jun's your daughter," Shinji said, "That's because she doesn't look like you,"  
"Are you sure this is the same Jun we're talking about?" Asuka asked. She went on to describe her daughter which happened to match Jun's description to a T.  
"That definitely fits her description," Shinji commented, still shocked.  
"She takes on her father's looks," Asuka said, "She acts more like me than my husband,"  
"We, meaning my friends and I, came in contact with your daughter a while back," Shinji said. Since this was a recreated world in the exact image as before save for Ranma being different on this world, this was much the exact world he had visited, "If we met your daughter, surely one of us would've noticed that there could've been a connection between her and you since they know Asuka as well,"  
Asuka said, "Like I said, she looks more like her father but acts more like myself. But then again, perhaps something obvious like a last name like Langley would give it away. However, she uses her father's last name. This is because with a last name of Langley, she would be automatically singled out as a descendent of the Asuka Langley that stopped Third Impact. I had her assume her father's last name since it would allow her to live a more normal life, and a normal life she's lived so far,"  
Shinji scratched his chin, "Hm, that's makes me wonder. I did remember Luna making a comment once to me about how Jun acted a bit like the Asuka we knew,"  
"Luna?" Asuka asked.  
He waved a hand, "It's not all that important. She just happened to have been one of the people that was with me when we came here,"  
"Oh," "This is just too coincidental," Shinji commented, "How in the world could everyone's lives be so intertwined. What are the chances that your daughter would happen to be friends with Ranma? That's just too much of a coincidence,"  
"I did find it rather odd, too, when she brought him by the house one day," Asuka said, "It struck me as odd that the man's name was Ranma but I figured he was joking around and never really believed it to be. I guess I shouldn'tve dismissed it so readily. Had my mother been still around, maybe she would've wanted to investigate that occurrence,"  
Shinji pinched the bridge of his nose, "Damn, I'm getting a headache trying to think of this. Not only do I have all this to deal with, now I hafta deal with the mystery behind the coincidence that something like this would happen. It's just too much of a coincidence to dismiss,"  
He knew, without a shadow of a doubt, that Ritsuko would not definitely try and figure out such a coincidence and prove that it wasn't.  
"God, this is too much to absorb," Shinji said to himself, "There are so many unanswered questions. I just recently found out that the Ranma I know actually prefers death to life, than I've lost all my friends were killed because of him, and now that some sick thread of fate seems to be tying all of us together somehow but dunno why,"  
"I'm at a loss," Asuka said, "I don't think I could be of much help,"  
"Don't worry about it," he said, "You giving me a change of clothes and allowing me to shower as well a making me something to eat is more help than what was needed,"  
"If there's any help you need, I'd be glad to help," she said sincerely.  
"What college does your daughter and Ranma attend?" he asked, "I originally came here hoping that your mom might know of a man named Ranma but it seems like the daughter knows instead,"  
"Kyoto University," Asuka said.  
"Kyoto, huh?" Shinji said, wondering if it was a weird coincidence that Sumi lived in Kyoto back home. Perhaps there was, perhaps there wasn't. There was no way of telling.  
"It's around three hours by car from here," Asuka commented, "However, if you want to go there, there's a shuttle bus that travels between here and there. It takes around four hours. My daughter usually takes that bus here when she comes visit home from school every now and there,"  
"Do you think your daughter will know where I can find Ranma?" he asked.  
Asuka said, "I'm not too sure. They used to hang out a while ago. She hasn't brought him around to visit since a while ago so there's no real telling. Then again, they only had one class together back then and that was last year. Since they take different majors, there's a good chance they don't have any of the same classes together,"  
"Would it be too much to ask if you can call your daughter and ask?" he asked, believing that it was a good idea, that he was on the right track.  
"I don't see why not," she said.  
Shinji followed Asuka in to the living room where she picked up the phone located by the couch and dialed in the number for her daughter's apartment. She then handed it to Shinji.  
"There you go," she said.  
"Um, thanks," Shinji took the receiver. He kind of wished Asuka would do the talking for him but it seemed like that wasn't going to be the case, she having walked off to clear the table of the plates and dishes.  
Shinji nervously waited for someone to pick up the phone on the other side.  
"Hello?" came a voice, a female voice.  
"Hi, um, is Jun there?" he asked.  
"Sorry, but she isn't here. This is her housemate, Mari," came an answer, "Who am I speaking to? I take a message?"  
"Um, my name's Shinji Ikari," he said.  
"Shinji, I don't recommend you using your name since you have the same name as Jun's grandfather," Asuka called out from the kitchen.  
"Oh," Shinji said with a meek smile, "I guess it's too late now,"  
"Shinji Ikari? Is this some kinda joke?" Mari asked, "That's her grandfather's name and he passed away,"  
"Um, it's just a coincidence I guess," Shinji said. "Well, I'll tell her that you called," the girl named Mari said, "Does she have your number?"  
Shinji shook his head, "No, she doesn't. Is she going to be home any time soon?"  
"She's got a night class so she won't be back until later tonight," came the answered, "However, just leave me your number and I'll be sure to give it to her,"  
Shinji turned toward Asuka, "Um, Jun isn't home. Is it okay if I give your number? Jun won't be home until later. Is it okay if I wait around until then?"  
"Sure,"  
"Thanks," he said, turning to the receiver, "Um, I'm at her mother house. She can call me there,"  
"Okay," Mari said in a cheery voice.  
"Can you please have her call right away?" Shinji said.  
"Sure, it's really important?"  
Shinji nodded, "Yeah, it's important,"  
Damn, I need to stop doing that, Shinji thought. I'm on the phone and I still continue to nod my head.  
"Will do," came the answered.  
Shinji said goodbye and hung up. He sat down on the couch and contemplated what he should do now.  
All he could really do was wait.  
Since he had some time to kill, it gave him ample time to think about all that had just transpired and the mystery of how such a coincidence like Asuka's daughter knowing Ranma could occur.

Jun, a beautiful girl with flowing long brown languidly entered her bedroom and flopped down on her bed, glad that she was done for the day with classes. Her hair was longer than it used to be, no longer down to her shoulder blades. Nowadays, it came down to the small of her back and it suited her well.  
Living away from home was nice but she occasionally missed being home. Today felt like one of those days. Besides, she hadn't been home for several months.  
Her classes were getting harder and harder and she found herself having a bit of trouble maintaining a good grade, spending quite a bit more time than she wanted studying and doing homework.  
There was a knock on her door.  
"C'min, it's open," Jun yawned, figuring it would be nice to get some sleep.  
In entered Mari, her housemate. She was basically her best friend all through high school and the two of them had decided to attend college together and become housemates.  
"I didn't know you got in already until I saw your backpack in the middle of the hallway," Mari commented, "Anyway, someone called for you,"  
"Who?"  
"Get this, a guy named Shinji Ikari," Mari said with a smirk.  
"Huh? That's my grandfather's name," she said.  
Mari shrugged, "I guess it's a coincidence,"  
"Obviously," Jun said.  
"Heh, it'd be kinda cool if your grandfather was alive but considering we were both at his funeral..." Mari stated.  
Jun shook her head, "No. It's be scary,"  
"Hm, I guess you have a point," Mari said, "Anyway, some guy called and told me that was his name. I'm pretty sure it isn't your grandfather since it doesn't sound like him,"  
"That and the fact that he's dead," Jun commented wryly.  
"That too," Mari gave a meek smile.  
"Did you take down his number?"  
Mari shook her head, "No. He says you can reach him at, get this, your parents' place. That I consider a bit weird,"  
Jun thought about it for a moment before she reached over and picked up her phone and dialed in the number for her house. Mari left the room so Jun could talk in private. After a few rings, Asuka picked up on the other side.  
"Mom? How're doing? I'm fine. Yeah, everything's fine," she said in to the phone, "Yes, classes are fine. A bit hard but manageable. Anyway, as to the reason for this call, um, I got this strange call today from someone with grandpa's name and was told that I could reach him at your place,"  
On the other side, Asuka said, "That's right. There is a Shinji Ikari here. He's been here waiting for your to call. And no, he isn't your grandfather, at least not in the way you believe. Anyway, here he is,"  
Asuka handed Shinji the phone.  
"Um, hello?" Shinji asked.  
"Hello?"  
"Is this Jun?" he asked.  
Jun nodded, "Yes," Why do I keep doing that, Jun thought. Who the heck nods their head while on the phone? It's not like they could see me nod.  
"Um, there're are few questions I'd like to ask you," he said, "It'd really appreciate it if you can help me out,"  
"Um, I'll try," she said, "What's this all about?"  
"Do you know a guy named Ranma?" Shinji got right to the point.  
Jun nodded, "Yeah. I see him around campus from time to time,"  
"Is he still around there?" he asked, "Do you know where I can find him?"  
"He's still around," Jun answered, "We occasionally bump in to each other at the library. He doesn't have a phone so there's no way to call him if you're looking to reach him. Why, does this something to do with him?"  
"Yeah," Shinji said, "It's actually very very important,"  
Jun gulped, "What's this about?"  
"It's kind of hard to explain," Shinji said, "However, I think it's best that you not know. I don't want to drag you in to this,"  
"Is this something bad?" she asked. Ranma had some really weird powers and she knew it would be just a matter of time before he was found out.  
"I need his help,"

Shinji gazed out the window of the bus, wondering why he wasn't all that tired. It was somewhere around midnight and he hadn't slept in quite a while. He was on his way to Kyoto University by bus, paid for by Asuka, bless her heart, where he would meet up with Jun.  
He wondered what he was going to tell her about his appearance. He looked like her grandfather and there would be no denying it. He didn't want to tell her the truth because it would most likely disrupt her life. Jun deserved a normal life and something like this was definitely not normal.  
"Then again, if she knows about Ranma's powers, then she should not be all that shocked if I do tell her the truth," he said to himself.  
He looked at the piece of paper that had Jun's address. He had no idea exactly how he was going to find her since he would be arriving there fairly late and she would be most likely asleep by the time he arrived at the bus terminal at two-thirty in the morning. Besides, he didn't want to impose on her if possible. He would worry about where he would sleep after he showed up there. That was basically how Ranma usually took such an approach. Worry about things when he came up to that bridge instead of worrying about it beforehand. He sat back in his seat, very glad to have something to go by. He had found Ranma and would soon be meeting up with him. He felt a bit sad.  
God need his help and here he was, on a bus, his trip paid for by Asuka. The clothes he was wearing were also courtesy of Asuka. The extra money in his pocket was also because of Asuka.  
"Damn, I rely too much on others," he commented, "If I think about it, I've never done anything on my own before. The first time I'm alone, without help, and I find myself at an impasse trying figure out where to get some food. Ranma can do everything on his own. If he was in the situation I was in, he would've had everything solved..."  
A tear trickled down one of his cheeks.  
Shinji would never become half the man that he looked up to. He also had a funny feeling that him trying his best would not be good enough. Too much was at stake and he believed that he was slowly cracking under the pressure.  
Shinji stepped off the bus and in to the cold air that was the night.  
He looked down at the piece of paper.  
He went in to the bus terminal and walked up to the counter where an middle-  
aged man worked.  
"Excuse me, but do you know where I can find this address?" he asked, holding the piece of paper forward.  
The man looked at the paper and then said, "Sorry, but I dunno,"  
"Thanks anyway," he said.  
Shinji looked around the terminal for any people lounging around. He found a few people waiting around to be picked up and bothered to ask them the same question. None of them knew where the street was located.  
Before he knew it, he was the last person in the terminal and with no where to go. He stood around, brainstorming on what to do. He had no idea where to go or what to do.  
After around fifteen minutes of brainstorming, he came up with an idea. He should find a gas station. Gas stations usually knew the area well and should be able to help out.  
"Excuse me, but can you tell me where the nearest gas station is?" Shinji asked the man behind the counter.  
"There's one eight miles up the road," the man gestured, "Just head down the road and you'll see it on your left,"  
"Thanks,"

Shinji asked the gas station attendant where he could find the address on the piece of paper was somewhere around three in the morning. He had jogged the whole eight miles to the gas station and knew that he was pushing his body much harder than need be. It would be just a matter of time before he would simply crash and find himself extremely tired.  
"Sorry, but I can't help you. I'm new to this area so I dunno the streets yet," the man behind the bullet proof glass said. Since it was a graveyard shift, the man worked from within the safety of the tiny locked booth he manned.  
"Thanks anyway," Shinji said, sighing.  
He was back at square one.  
"Damn, this is really hard," Shinji said to himself, "How the heck am I going to somehow get Ranma to help out when I can't even help myself out well enough o find him,"  
He looked at the piece of paper and noticed the phone number on it. He contemplated calling that number, Jun's number, and asking her to pick him up when he had been at the bus terminal but chose against it. He was sure she would know where to pick him up since she took the bus to visit home. However, it was best not to burden her.  
"How the hell is Ranma so good at figuring things out so easily?" Shinji asked himself, "A setback like this would be nothing for him. Damn, what I wouldn't give to have some of Ranma's streetsmarts right now. I would gladly give up being booksmart so I could be even half as streetsmart as him,"  
He sighed. However, that would never happen. He was pretty good at everything but streetsmart was something he was not. Being streetsmart took experience, something he seriously lacked.  
Shinji banished the though from his head. It was useless to be complaining right now. He was still in a jam and complaining did nothing.  
He began pacing back and forth. Before long, he figured out that rather than try and find the apartment where Jun resided, it was best to find an area that would know where the apartment was.  
"Can you tell me which way to Kyoto University?" he asked. Surely, someone that lived in that area would know where the street where she lived, provided she lived anywhere near campus that is. He would worry about that later. At least he had something to go by again.  
"It's three miles up the road," the man gestured.  
"Thanks," he said.  
Shinji began running up the road. As he did so, he wondered why the bus terminal would be located eleven miles away from the university. If there were a lot of college students nearby, having a bus terminal close to campus would be good business. Not wanting to strain his brain, Shinji continued running up the road.

Shinji arrived at the campus at the dead of night. Not a single soul was about. He walked up the main entrance where there was a booth manned by a bored male college staff member.  
Shinji approached the booth and presented him the piece of paper, "Excuse me, but do you know where I can find this address?"  
The guy looked at the paper and said, "Ah, it's located five miles down the road. Just head up the main street where the road comes to a fork. Take the right fork and head down three lights. That's the road you're looking for,"  
Shinji sighed, "Damn, how far do I hafta go to find this place?"  
"Huh?" the man asked.  
Shinji gave a meek smile, "Nevermind. It's just that I already ran eleven miles to get here and now I've got even more running. Running is starting to wear me out,"  
"You ran eleven miles?" the man asked, "Are you on the track team?"  
"No,"  
"If you ran that distance, you might wanna try out for track," the man commented, "You'd do well for the team,"  
"Sorry, but I don't go to school here," Shinji said, a bit flattered. He probably would be an excellent member for any school's track team. He could run twenty miles with a moderately fast pace without breaking a sweat or needing to stop to catch his breath.  
"That's unfortunate," the man said, "Anyway, I hope you find the place you're looking for,"  
"Thanks," Shinji said.  
Sighing, Shinji ran back down the road that was the entrance to campus and turned down the main road that was perpendicular to it, heading in the direction as the guy mentioned.  
Shinji looked at his watch as he stood in front of Jun's apartment building. Since he had set his watch to the correct time for this world, he was surprised when he realized it was around four-thirty in the morning.  
"Damn, it's so late," he said, yawning. He was starting to feel tired which was strange because, considering how much energy he exerted running all that time, he should've been dead tired long ago. Heck, he should've been tired well before he even stepped off the bus.  
He looked up at the apartment building before him and noticed that the building looked rather upscale and far more extravagant than where an average college student usually resided. "I guess I shouldn't be surprised," Shinji told himself, "Asuka said Jun moved out so I guess it'd be weird if she moved out in to some old, dilapidated building. A building like this looks to be the kind where someone would live in permanently,"  
He walked up to the entrance and looked at the intercom than had a list of names. Scanning through it, he found Jun's and Mari's name. He couldn't help but find it a bit weird that Jun had assumed her father's last name. But then again, perhaps it would be for the better, so she would not be looked upon as the granddaughter of 'The' Asuka Soryu Langley that supposedly stopped Third Impact.  
He smiled, glad that his journey here and adventure trying to find this place had finally come to a happy conclusion. The only thing he had to worry about was meeting up with Jun which he had decided he would put off until sometime in the morning. There was no need to ring the doorbell and wake her and her housemate up. Now that he knew where she lived, he could find a place to stay for the night and come back in the morning.  
He remembered passing a hotel about a mile down the road. He would rent a room for the night and get a good few hours of sleep before he would come back and introduce himself to Jun and explain the reason for him being here.  
Smiling, Shinji headed off down the road for the hotel.  
Shinji pinched the bridge of his nose, "You've gotta be kidding me. No vacancy?"  
"Sorry," the hotel manager said, an overweight middle-aged man, "There're no vacancies. All the rooms are taken. There's a major concert tomorrow and most of the students' parents here to attend have rented out rooms here,"  
Shinji sighed. He wondered if it would be better to just get pissed off and demand a room or request that that one of the occupants be kicked out for his sake. This was because he needed sleep and his reasons for being here in the first place was far more important than perhaps anyone else on this whole stinking world.  
"Um, are you okay?" the man asked, "I'm sorry. Really, I am. But there are no vacancies,"  
He sighed again, "I'm fine. I've been under a lot of stress,"  
"Oh,"  
Shinji yawned. He pointed toward the couch that was located right by the side in the lobby, "Can you let me just sleep on the couch? I only need a few hours of sleep,"  
"I'm sorry, but I can't allow that,"  
"Damn, can't you be a bit selfless and do me this favor?"  
"I'm sorry,"  
He sighed, "Forget it,"  
Dejected, Shinji walked off. Looks like he would be sleeping in the streets tonight.  
"Ranma's probably had to deal with something like this all the time," he asked himself, "How the hell can he not go crazy dealing with such selfishness? You'd think he'd be cynical after dealing with something like this all the time,"

Jun woke up feeling refreshed.  
She slept like a baby. She looked at the clock and realized that it was around five minutes to ten in the morning. She stretched, glad that she wasn't some freshmen anymore and needing to go to classes early in the morning. Her first class didn't start until noon so she could sleep in late if she wanted to.  
There was a knock on her door.  
"C'min," she said, stretching.  
Mari entered the room.  
"Man, I woke up not even a minute ago and you seem to somehow know you don't risk disturbing my sleep had you knocked," Jun commented, smirking.  
Mari said, "You always wake up around now,"  
"I guess you have a point," she shrugged, "So, what's up?"  
"There's something I think you should check out," Mari commented, "There's this guy that's pacing back and forth in front of our apartment. I noticed him there early this morning when I woke up. He's been there since at least seven,"  
"Why's he there?" Jun asked, climbing out of bed.  
Mari said, "I'm not too sure. It looks like he's waiting for someone. Dunno who though,"  
Jun followed Mari out in to the living room and looked out the window where she saw what Mari was talking about. There was indeed a young man pacing back and forth in front of the building. Since there apartment was located on the sixth floor, she couldn't make out his features.  
"You're right, there is a guy out there," Jun said.  
"He's been there for hours," Mari said, "You think he's some kinda stalker? I know we're hot and all, but to have a stalker is kind of freaky,"  
Jun cast Mari and odd look, "What the heck are you talking about? Are you crazy?"  
Mari laughed, "I'm just joking around with you,"  
Meanwhile, outside, Shinji looked at his watch. It read ten exactly. Figuring it was a good time to ring the doorbell since most people were usually up and about well before that time, he walked up to the front entrance and rang the doorbell for Jun's apartment.  
Inside their apartment, both girls were surprised when they heard their buzzer ring.  
Mari asked, "Oh my god! Is he ringing our buzzer?"  
"It looks like it," Jun gulped.  
Not really knowing what to do, both girls waited in silence, figuring it was just a freak coincidence that he accidentally rang their buzzer. When the buzzer rang once again, they realized that he was indeed buzzing them.  
Jun walked up to the intercom and nervously answered, wondering if it really was a stalker, "H-hello?"  
"Hi, is Jun there?" came a voice.  
"Um, s-speaking," she said, secretly wishing her friend Ranma was there. If he was there, she would be safe if it really was a stalker.  
"I'm Shinji," Shinji said, "We talked on the phone last night,"  
"Shinji Ikari?" she asked, a bit weirded out at saying her grandfather's name.  
"Yeah," he answered, "Um, I hope I didn't wake you up,"  
"Um, no, not at all," she said, "How come you're here? I thought you were going to show up here at noon,"  
"I couldn't wait so I took the last bus here last night," he said, "I was here since two in the morning. Anyway, may I come in? I have some things I'd like to talk to you about,"  
"Um, okay," she said, pressing a button that unlocked the front door, "Just come on in and wait in the lobby. I'll be down in a second,"  
"There's no need, I'll come up," he said.  
"Okay," she said. She looked around and noticed that the apartment was a bit messy, unmentionables strewn about and a pile of dishes still waiting to be washed, "Um, better yet, it's best that you not. It's kinda, um, messy here. I'll come down,"  
"Okay," he said.  
"What's goin on here?" Mari asked.  
"Shinji's here," Jun said.  
"The guy with the same name as your grandfather?" Mari asked, "How come? Didn't you say we were supposed to pick him up at the bus station at noon?"  
"You heard what he said, he didn't want to wait and took the last bus in last night instead of the first one in this morning,"  
"Why's he here?" Mari asked.  
"I don't know," Jun said, "However, my mom said it was important that he be here. I don't know what it could be, but it's not like I'm going to go against my mom or anything,"  
Mari quickly headed off, "I'm gonna go freshen up. I don't want to meet him looking like this,"  
"Hello, this place is a mess," Jun said, "I'm not bringing him up here,"  
"So what, I'm gonna come down with you," she said, "I'd like to meet him. It was kinda hard to see him from up here, but he looks kinda cute,"  
"You just thought he was a stalker," Jun said, "And now you want to come meet him?"  
"That's because it was determined that he isn't some stalker," Mari answered logically, "That's why I want to meet him now,"  
Shinji sighed, "Fine. Whatever,"

Jun's eyes widened as she regarded Shinji.  
He looked exactly like the pictured of her grandfather when he was young. She and Mari were in the lobby where they met up with Shinji.  
Shinji regarded Jun for a moment. She looked exactly like the Jun he remembered encountering on the alternate version of this world before it had been recreated. The only difference was that her hair was longer. He regarded her intently for a moment and noticed that Jun did look indeed a bit like Asuka. The hair style seemed to through him off.  
Shinji already knew what Jun would ask, "I know, I look like your grandfather. It's a long story,"  
"It seems so," she said.  
"Hi, I'm Mari," her housemate said, smiling warmly.  
"Um, hi, I'm Shinji," Shinji bowed politely. Jun noticed this. Her grandfather did that, a polite gesture lost long ago. Mari smiled, "It's nice to meetcha,"  
Jun didn't really know what to say. She couldn't help but feel a bit weird that her housemate was looking at Shinji rather fondly, a man that looked exactly like her grandfather when he was young. In a demented way, it felt as if Mari was interested in her grandfather. That was gross.  
"As much as I'd like to tell you everything, I think it's best that I not," Shinji said, shocked that he wasn't at a loss of words like he expected. Perhaps it was because, indirectly, he already knew Jun since he kind of knew the alternate version of her. They were the exact same so knowing the alternate version of her was the same as knowing the one standing before him.  
"Um, no offense to you, Mari, but I think it's best that only Jun and I speak in private," Shinji said, feeling a bit bad. It was for the better since it was unnecessary to bring Mari in to this.  
Mari made a face like she wasn't happy with having to leave but said, "Okay, I'll leave you two alone. My class starts real soon so I guess it's best that I get going anyway. It was nice meeting you though,"  
Shinji apologized as Mari excused herself and headed out of the lobby. When she was gone, he turned toward Jun.  
"Um, it's kind of a long and complicated story on why I'm here and it's best that you not know the real reason why," Shinji said, "I'm hoping you can just put that aside and help me out and help me find Ranma,"  
He waited anxiously for Jun to answer. He had no right keeping the truth from her since, in a way, she was already involve, what with him being there in the first place. However, if she really wanted to know, then he would tell her. If she didn't want to know, then that was all the better.  
"C'mon, you look exactly like my grandfather and seem to even have his name," Jun commented, "You can't expect me to turn a blind eye to something like this and not expect answers,"  
Shinji sighed, "I guess you have a point. It's a really long and complicated story though,"  
Jun looked at her watch and noticed that she had around an hour and a half before she had to leave for class, "I've got some time,"  
Shinji paused for a moment, wondering what a good way of starting his story. After a moment, he thought of a way.  
"I need your friend's help to kill what used to be God,"

"Let me get this straight," Jun asked again, "Ranma, the person I see walking around campus, is a walking, living God?"  
Shinji shook his head, "No. He isn't. He happened to have the same powers of God. The aspect of him being God had been removed when he and this world was recreated. I need his help to kill, in a sense, another version of him,"  
Jun sat on a sofa located in the lobby as she tried to comprehend what she was hearing. Shinji gave a shy smile, "As you can tell, this is quite a lot to take in. I'm kinda surprised that you managed to keep up with me. I guess the fact that stuff like Angels attacking this world long ago has made people very open-minded to stuff that seems otherwise incomprehensible had something like that never happened,"  
"Frankly, it's not that that really has me all shocked," she said, "Sure, I'm shocked to hear all of that, don't get me wrong. But what's actually got me more surprised is how you and I seem to be somehow related,"  
"I know what you mean. You're not the only one that's shocked about that," Shinji found himself a bit confused about what he was saying, "I'm just as shocked as you. Finding out that an alternate version of myself had children is something I don't think I'll ever get over. It's really weird because even though we are not directly related, it kinda feels like we are. And I think I know why. When I was waiting around for you to wake up, I was thinking mostly about that and its correlation,"  
"What correlation?" she asked.  
"You know how I said, just like how I told your mother, there used to be an alternate version of this world, where Unit-01 had self-destructed and killed millions in the process?" Shinji said, "The Ranma of that world, the alternate version of your friend, seemed to have some kind of attachment toward the Jun of that world, the alternate version of you,"  
Jun blushed slightly. It made her wonder if the Ranma she knew had some kind of attachment toward him. It didn't seem so since he was generally a very private and cold person. It was only recently he started to show a mild amusement to hanging out with her from time to time. That must mean something.  
"The Ranma of that world seemed to tolerate me more than anyone else," Shinji said, "This could be because, subconsciously, he might know that you and I are somehow related, even if we are related in different worlds. That's just my assumption. Ranma had commented that he only wanted me tagging along with him because I bothered him the least, but, subconsciously, it could've been for other reasons that even he didn't know. In a sense, since Ranma couldn't have 'Jun' tag along with him, he opted to have her 'ancestor' tag along instead, that being me," Jun was very silent as she tried to gather her thoughts.  
Shinji chuckled slightly as he thought more about it, "I know, it's really crazy but that could be it. I kinda wish my friend Ritsuko was here to analyze things since she was most adept at coming with explanations...but she's no longer alive,"  
"I'm sorry to hear that," Jun said sympathetically, "I'm also sorry to hear about what happened to all of your friends and such,"  
"It's okay," he said, "It does hurt, but at least knowing that things would be put back to normal like nothing had happened makes it not quite as painful. Unfortunately, I don't think I'll ever be the same since I experienced the loss and I'll always remember what happened even if other didn't," He didn't bother to say the last sentence loud enough for Jun to hear.  
Shinji rubbed his face wearily, "What you've heard is just the tip of the iceberg. Even though what you've heard sounds extremely complicated and such, it pales in comparison to what Ranma's been through. No, not the Ranma you know, but the Ranma...I'm supposed to kill. Heck, if you think about it, You and Ranma have actually been through quite a lot but your memories were erased absolutely when this world was recreated,"  
In a sense, everyone that somehow seems to have come across Ranma's path seemed to have been inexorably drawn in to some complicated tapestry. Heh, that sounds rather cheesy, but it's the truth,"  
"From what I've heard, it sure seems so," Jun commented.  
Shinji's eyes widened, "Oh my god!"  
"W-what?" Jun was startled.  
"I figured it out!" Shinji said, "I figured why we all seem to somehow be connected in some complicated way and that it isn't mere coincidence that our lives are intertwined. It's all because of Ranma,"  
"Ranma?""  
"The Ranma that I know had once made a comment about how he, when he was God, knew what would have happened to my friends and I had he never showed up in our lives and basically changed it. Urd, the current God, told me that everyone is tied to Fate but Ranma somehow escaped this so-called Fate. This might mean that because Ranma escaped it and crossed our paths, our own Fate was changed in the process because his non-Fate path is drawing in our Fated path,"  
Jun gave Shinji an odd look, "Um, that sounds really far-fetched, how we have Fates and can't make our own,"  
Shinji made an exaggerated gesture of annoyance, "So what? The Ranma I know has God on speed-dial! How insane and incomprehensible can something possible get for one to consider it far-fetched? This universe is, what, a year old even though there are 'clues' that makes everyone believe it's a few billion years old even though, in reality, it was purposely left behind to make people believe that. Ranma's joked about knowing the meaning of life and forgetting to write it down. Now that I think about it, he might actually have forgotten to do just that, write it down. Wouldn't you consider some of those aspects far-fetched?"  
Jun shrugged, "I really don't know what to say,"  
Shinji sighed, "There's really not much to say. As I think more and more about everything, it gets more and more complicated and insane,"  
Jun gave a meek smile, "Man, I guess you have a point. Perhaps it would've been better had I not known what you knew,"  
"Unfortunately, now you know,"

Shinji and Jun entered the library together at around fifteen minutes to noon.  
"Ranma shows up here from time to time and in here was where we usually bump in to each other," Jun said, "He's here at random times but it usually here on a daily or semi-daily basis. If you hang around here, you'll eventually bump in to him,"  
"Um, wouldn't it be easier if you just show me where he lives?" Shinji asked curiously, "That way, rather than wait here for him and not know when he'll be showing up, I can wait by his place where I know he'll eventually show up,"  
Jun shook her head, "Actually, it's probably better to wait here. There were a couple of times I tried waiting for Ranma by his place and he doesn't show up. Since he doesn't seem to eat or sleep, there's no real reason for him to actually go home. With the library, since he seems to have a genuine interest in reading, you're more likely to see him here than elsewhere,"  
Shinji said, "Hm, I guess you have a point. Still, it would be nice to at least have an idea of when I'll meet him instead of just waiting around,"  
Jun shrugged, "Well, I guess it would have to do for now. If I know of a better way, I'd be sure to suggest it, but this is probably the best way,"  
"Thanks," Shinji smiled, "You've been really helpful,"  
"It's no problem," she smiled, checking out her watch, "Well, it's about time I head on out to class. I'll drop by here afterward at two. I've got an upcoming test so I don't mind staying here and waiting along with you,"  
"Okay," he said, "I guess I'll see you then,"  
"See you later, 'grandpa'," Jun smiled warmly before leaving.  
Shinji tried to think of a proper response but was at a loss of words. Before he knew it, Jun had disappeared as she exited the library.  
"Ain't that far-fetched? I'm younger than her and, in a sense, I'm her grandfather," Shinji couldn't help but snicker.  
Shinji yawned. He found himself a bit tired.  
"Oh yeah, I forgot, I didn't sleep last night," he commented, "I should try and get some sleep,"  
Shinji sat down at an empty chair and rested his arms and head on the table.  
He fell asleep within minutes.  
Shinji was woken up two hours later when someone touched one of his shoulder.  
Partially disoriented, it took Shinji a good few minutes before he realized where he was. Jun found this mildly amusing. However, she grew to regret her choice of waking him up when she noticed this look of sadness become very evident on his face.  
"I-is something the matter?" she asked curiously.  
Shinji rubbed at his eyes, tears threatening to form, pretending he was merely rubbing something that had gotten in his eyes, "N-nothing,"  
Jun's lips became a thin line as she had a good idea what had trouble Shinji. She believed Shinji had momentarily believed that all he had been through, that the loss of his friends, had been nothing but some nightmare and he had just woken up from it. It wasn't until he looked around did he realize that it wasn't a nightmare and that he was living it.  
Shinji rubbed at his neck, regretting for having fallen asleep in such an awkward position. His neck hurt and his back didn't feel any better.  
"What time is it?" he asked, "How long had I slept?"  
"It's two," she said, "You slept no more than two hours, provided you fell asleep immediately after I left for class,"  
Shinji said, "Actually, I think I did. I put my head down for a second and the next thing I know, you're waking me up,"  
"When was the last time you slept?"  
He scratched his head, "I dunno, probably a couple of days. I would've actually slept last night but the hotel that was a short distance away from your place had no vacancy,"  
Jun thought for a moment before she nervously said, "Um, well, if you want, you're welcome to stay at my place,"  
Shinji's eyes widened, "Y-your place?"  
"Yeah," she said, "If you can't find a place to stay, you can stay at my place. Mari and I live together and we have a fold-out sofa bed in the livingroom. I'm sure Mari wouldn't mind,"  
Shinji smiled but said, "Thanks for the offer, but I'll manage. I'm only going to be hanging around this world for a day or so until I find Ranma,"  
"What do you plan on doing after you find Ranma?" she asked curiously.  
Shinji gave a meek smile.  
"I have no idea,"

Shinji looked at his watch. It read four-twenty. Still, Ranma had not showed up.  
"Do you think he's going to show up?" Shinji asked curiously.  
Jun looked up from her textbook and smirked, "For all we know, he could've showed up already but you slept through it," "Really?" Shinji's eyes widened, "That never occurred to me,"  
Jun shook her head, "That's most unlikely. Ranma usually spends several hours here whenever he's here. Sometimes, I see him here when I show up, head off to class and find him still here when I stop by here,"  
"Oh, that's good to hear," he said.  
"Speaking of which," Jun said a bit nervously, "Um, can you tell me a bit about Ranma?"  
"Which one? The one I know or the one I'm waiting for?" he asked.  
"The latter," she said.  
Shinji smirked, knowing what she was getting at. He figured that Jun and Ranma from back then looked to be a good match for one another. Perhaps the Jun and Ranma of this world was just the same. "What would you like to know?" he asked.  
"I dunno, anything," she said, "I've know Ranma for about a year now, and frankly, I don't really know all that much about him,"  
Shinji wondered if he should just make something up and say something that Jun wanted to hear or tell the truth. He thought for a minute before deciding to tell the truth. Sure, he could lie, but he felt uncomfortable lying and would rather not lie if that was possible.  
"If you really wanna know, when this world was recreated, the Ranma I know believed that you two were meant for each other,"  
Jun couldn't help but smile.

"There he is," Jun's voice woke Shinji out of his slumber.  
Shinji rubbed the sleep from his eyes and looked at his watch. It read six-  
fifty. He couldn't believe he had slept for close to four hours. It felt like he had closed his eyes for a minute. He looked in the direction of Jun was pointed and saw the man he had come looking for, Ranma.  
Shinji didn't even need to be told to know that the Ranma that had just entered the library was not the Ranma he knew. This was a totally different Ranma.  
His gaze followed Ranma as he walked over to a random seat and sat down.  
Shinji got up out of his seat, his heart beating rapidly. He had dreaded meeting Ranma because he had no idea what he was going to say. Talking to this Ranma would be nothing like the Ranma he knew. It also didn't help that this Ranma didn't remember anything about Shinji, his memories of him erased.  
"I'll go talk to Ranma," Jun said. She knew Ranma for over a year now and was confident that Ranma was much more receptive to her than anyone else.  
"Um, o-okay," he said, swallowing the lump in his throat.  
Jun got out of her seat and walked over to where Ranma was. Ranma didn't seem to have noticed she was there until she approached him. "Hey, Ranma," she said, giving him "Hey," he said, looking up at her.  
Without much thought, Jun reached out and grabbed Ranma's hand.  
"What are you doing?" he asked.  
"Follow me," she said, "There's someone that needs your help. I'll introduce you,"  
Perhaps it was because it was Jun that had his arm on his arm because Ranma didn't yank his arm away as if disgusted at being touched. Instead, he just got up from his seat and followed her. He didn't seem to follower her out of obligation bur rather a sense of curiosity.  
Jun brought Ranma up to Shinji as Shinji got up from his seat. Shinji was so nervous that he stood up too quickly that the seat fell over, creating a loud crash when the back of the chair hit the floor.  
"Um, h-hello," Shinji said nervously.  
Ranma didn't bother to respond. Instead, he just regarded Shinji with his dual-colored eyes. Shinji noted this. He couldn't help but feel like he was meeting this Ranma all over again even though he knew what kind of personality he had.  
"My name's Shinji Ikari," Shinji stated, "I know you don't know me, but I helped you out in your previous life,"  
Ranma didn't seem to show any care at what he was hearing.  
"Anyway, something terrible has come up and only you can help out," Shinji said, "I need your help,"  
"Not interested," Ranma said, turning around and walking back to his seat.  
"Can't you hear me out?" Shinji asked Ranma's back.  
"Not interested," Ranma said, sitting back down in his seat.  
Shinji's jawline tightened as he found himself angry. He should have known that Ranma would respond with an answer like that. If he really thought about it, there was no reason for Ranma to help out. If Urd was killed, nothing would exist and Ranma would cease to exist along with it. That was something Ranma would welcome given how the other Ranma hated his very existence. It seemed this Ranma was very much alike that Ranma.  
"If you help me, I can give you death," Shinji said, knowing that this was a long shot. Shinji recalled Ranma hated his existence so much that perhaps Shinji could use that to his advantage.  
Ranma's eyes perked up, Ranma interested in that last comment.  
"Go on, I'm listening,"

new stuff 11/23

Shinji and Ranma stood in front of the library. Jun remained in the library, asked not to take part in the conversation since it was a delicate matter at hand and there was no need for her to know even more than she knew.  
"I know you don't remember me, but I remember you," Shinji said, "In an alternate world that was similar to this, the alternate you resurrected me. In the process, I was somehow bestowed your powers. The problem is that they're currently dormant and I have no idea how to make them surface,"  
"And what makes you think I know?" Ranma let out an annoyed breath, wondering if it was even worth his time to listen to Shinji.  
"Because you were the one that gave me those powers," Shinji said, "If you were the one that gave it to me, then you must also know how to unlock it,"  
Ranma said, "Even if I did do it, what makes you think I know. I barely understand my own powers,"  
"Your power is infinite," Shinji said, "That's why this world isn't raining, because you somehow did something to make the rain stop,"  
"I stopped it because it was annoying," Ranma commented.  
Shinji nodded, "I'm sure it is. But do you see what I mean? You were the one that stopped it. How did you stop it?"  
"I didn't want it to rain so it stopped," he said matter-of-factly.  
"I know, but how did you stop it?" Shinji asked, "If you know how to do something like stopping it from raining, then something like unlocking my powers should be no harder,"  
Ranma said, "I don't know how I stopped it. It just stopped when I wanted it to," Shinji's eyes widened, "You're kidding me, right? You have no idea how your powers work?"  
"I know how some of them work," he commented.  
"Like what?" Shinji asked.  
"Like how to bring people back to life," Ranma stated, "It's easier to bring a person back to life if I accidentally kill them than to let them stay dead and deal with the consequences. It's annoying dealing with everyone as they try to 'apprehend' me for murder,"  
Shinji gulped. He forgot about that. Ranma was a murderer. He had no qualms about taking one's life if need be. That was the main difference between this Ranma and the Ranma he knew. The Ranma he knew would never kill someone. This Ranma seemed the type that would kill a person if he or she crossed him. The thing to take in to consideration is that if this Ranma is anything like his previous self, then he only killed when provoked.  
"Can you show me how to bring someone back to life?" Shinji asked.  
"No," Ranma said flatly.  
"Why not?"  
"I don't feel like it," Ranma said, "I'm not obligated to do anything for you if I don't want to,"  
Shinji pinched the bridge of his nose, "You're making this really hard for me, Ranma,"  
"So?" Ranma said, "I don't care about you or what you're expected to do. If I think about it, it's better if I do nothing, because if I don't help you, then you'll fail and everything would cease to exist, even myself,"  
Shinji said nothing for several moments.  
"You hate your very existence," Shinji commented, "If you help me, then if I succeed, I'll make sure you don't have to live on,"  
He wondered exactly how he was going to go about doing something like that, but he was sure Urd could come up with something. Besides, she would owe him.  
"So what? If I don't help you, the same result would occur but under different circumstances," Ranma said, "It's a win-win situation for me," Shinji sighed, "Man, I wish I didn't tell you about what would happen,"  
Ranma smirked, "It's too late now. I already know and I have no care to help you,"  
Shinji tried to think of what to say that would convince him.  
"If I fail, everything will cease to exist, Jun as well," Shinji commented, wondering if it was worth it to try and play the sympathy card with someone with no sympathy.  
Ranma shrugged, "It don't matter to me,"  
"Um, she likes you," Shinji said, "What, you don't like her and would want something like that to happen to her?"  
Ranma paused for a moment, "She likes me?"  
"Um, yeah, s-she told me herself," Shinji lied. He just assumed she had some kind of feelings for Ranma. Whether it be that of friendship or something more serious, he honestly didn't know. "You lie," Ranma said, narrowing his eyes at Shinji.  
"I'm not lying," Shinji said, hoping it didn't look that evident that he was lying, "Um, if you think about it, if you help me, and I succeed, time will continue on as usual. Over time, Jun and you will most likely get together and eventually get married,"  
Ranma was silent.  
"However, if you don't help me, then it would most likely lead to my failure," Shinji added for more impact, "And if I fail, you two will never eventually get together,"  
Ranma thought about it for a moment. He did like Jun or at least tolerated her more than anyone else he had ever encountered. It did pique his interest in what might happen if they had time to perhaps develop their casual friendship in to something more serious. He was curious as to what might happen. He had been proven wrong once before. When he had first met Jun at the library, he believed that they would be nothing more than acquaintances. Instead, they were more or less friends, at least that was what Ranma considered it. On occasions, they would have lunch together or even catch a movie together, two instances that meant nothing to Ranma since he neither got hungry nor cared about movies. However, the company he had seemed to make it somewhat enjoyable.  
"Well, what do you say?" Shinji asked, hopeful.  
"Hmph, fine,"

Shinji approached Jun. Ranma waited outside the library while Shinji went in to get Jun. It had been decided that Ranma and Shinji would go to Shinji's world. Although they had no real idea exactly how to trigger Shinji's dormant powers, they figured it was better to try and figure it out there. This was because, while there, Ranma could resurrect Shinji's friends. They might be able to help as well.  
Ranma had wanted to say something to Jun before they left and Shinji had eagerly accepted to get her for him while he waited outside.  
"Um, how goes your talk with Ranma?" Jun asked, "He didn't sound all that willing to help. If you want, I'll ask him. Perhaps I can convince him. Surely, even he can realize that something like this can't be ignored,"  
Shinji scratched his head, "Actually, if I think about it, if I came to this world perhaps a year earlier, around the time when I first came to the alternate version of this world, Ranma would not had helped me,"  
"And now?" she seemed hopeful.  
"He's a bit, um, nicer," Shinji gave a meek smile, "However, I think I know why,"  
"Why?" she asked, curiously.  
"It's because he's been friends with you for, what, over a year?" Shinji said, "That seemed to have mellowed him out. He's not quite as cold and uncaring as the one I remembered,"  
Jun smiled slightly, "Well, I think I know where you're coming from. Ranma was really mean back then. As I spent more time with him, I started to get to know him and realize that he's not as bad as he's made out to be. If you think about it, what made him so cold was his upbringing. Keep in mind the name 'Ranma' is a name that's disgusted on this world. He had a bad childhood and grew up hating people so I guess I understand why he seems to hold so much contempt toward people in general," "Just curious, exactly what did you do that made Ranma seem to, um, mellow out?" Shinji asked.  
Jun scratched her head, "What do you mean? I did nothing. We just hang out every here and there,"  
Shinji shrugged, "Well, whatever you do, it works,"  
"Um, okay," she was a bit confused.  
Shinji and Ranma emerged from a portal and on to Shinji's world.  
It was pouring out and the sky was pitch black. Neither of them had any idea whether it was day or night. The two of them were soaking wet within seconds after emerging from the portal.  
"H-how did you do that?" Shinji asked, confused, "How'd you open a portal to this world?  
Ranma shrugged, "I don't know. It's the first time I tried it,"  
Shinji wondered when he would be able to 'will' a portal open and travel to different worlds. It would be kind of fun, to be able to visit other worlds and not risk not being able to come back since a breakable nanban mirror would no longer be involved.  
Shinji looked around and noticed how dark it was, "Jeez, is it me or is it really dark out?"  
"Is that supposed to be a joke?" Ranma asked coldly.  
Shinji gave a meek smile, "No. It was just an observation. I can't tell if it's night or day because those clouds are so thick and dark,"  
"It's day," Ranma said, "There ultra violet light is more noticeable in the day than at night. What little light that's coming in is coming from the sun and not from the moon,"  
"Huh? You can see ultra violet light?" Shinji asked.  
"Yes," he said, "What, you can't?"  
Shinji said, "Um, no. I don't think anyone but you can see it,"  
Ranma shrugged, not all that amused whether or not he could.  
"Um, your world had clouds and rain like this, right?" Shinji asked.  
"Yeah, so?" Ranma replied coldly.  
"Can you show me how you do it?" Shinji asked.  
"Just dismiss the clouds and it'll go away," Ranma said in annoyance, "That's what I did,"  
"How?" Shinji asked.  
"Like this," Ranma muttered, making a wide waving gesture across above his head, palm toward the sky.  
As if a miracle had occurred, most likely because that was exactly what it was, the clouds started parting to reveal the bright sun shining high above. The clouds continued to part, disappearing in to the horizon, too far away to be seen. Before Shinji knew it, the sky was perfectly clear, not a single cloud in the sky.  
"Wow," Shinji said in amazement, looking up at the clear sky, "That was really cool,"  
Ranma shrugged, not amused.  
"All you did was merely think of the clouds parting and disappearing and it did just that?" Shinji asked.  
Ranma nodded, "Yes. I thought that in particular, the rain stopping and the clouds disappearing right afterwards,"  
"That's really cool," Shinji said.  
Ranma shrugged.  
"Man, now that the clouds are clear and there's light, I can get a good look at the destruction," Shinji said, "Man, it looks like an N2 mine was set off in the heart of MegaTokyo. I can't believe there's so much destruction,"  
"Where are we supposed to go?" Ranma asked, changing the subject. What this world looked like was trivial to him.  
Shinji looked around. It took him a moment before he noticed where he was. Although it was basically devastated land in every direction, Shinji found himself using the giant crater not too far from where he was as a reference point. He had buried his friends right by the southern portion of the outer rim of the crater.  
Shinji pointed, "Over there. I buried my friends there,"  
"Where is this so-called weapon?" Ranma asked.  
"Oh, near where I buried everyone," Shinji answered, "I was told I can find the weapon in the garage of what used to be my home. I buried my friends in the backyard of my place so I guess we're lucky. Heading over there, we'll be killing two birds with one stone,"  
"Let's get going," Ranma smirked.  
"Right," Shinji followed.  
Even though it was a different Ranma, Shinji felt more comfortable knowing that Ranma was in charge of things once again. Funnily enough, now that he thought about it, after he brings everyone back from the dead, Ranma would be, once again, the person that made everything better.

"I've changed my mind,"  
Shinji gave Ranma an odd look, "Huh?"  
"I've changed my mind," he smirked, "I've decided that I don't want to help you,"  
"W-what?" Shinji asked.  
Ranma smirked. It had taken him a while, but he had found what he was looking for. While Shinji had been busy digging nearby so he could unearth his dead friends, Ranma had been searching through the debris from the weapon Shinji had mentioned.  
"I've decided I'd rather have everything ceasing to exist than to let it continue to exist," Ranma said, "I've rather have death than to continue on living,"  
"W-what are you trying to say?" Shinji said, blood draining from his face, "W-  
what about Jun? Are you going to leave her?"  
Ranma said, "Don't try and play the sympathy card with me. I can't die. I will outlive Jun. As tempting as it is to live and perhaps find a bit of happiness with Jun, I know that that would never last since I will outlive her,"  
Shinji gulp. This was not happening! Ranma gestured toward a giant Lance that was in his hands, "It's obvious that this is the so-called weapon capable of killing God. If it's got the powers to kill God, then it has the capability of killing me,"  
Without saying another word, Ranma pointed the sharp end of the weapon toward his chest. It was obvious that he was going to plunge the weapon in to his chest so he could kill himself.  
"Kinda brings back memories, doesn't it?" Ranma smiled.  
"What do you mean?" Shinji asked.  
"I remember my previous life," Ranma said, "I remember Angels trying to kill me and such. Don't ask me how I remember, I simply do. I was sorely tempted to come to this world and kill Ranma myself for going back on his promise. I remember you from back then. It's your fault for assuming that I don't remember you. Not once did I ever say I don't remember or know you,"  
Shinji stammered, "Y-you remember everything?"  
"Yes," he said, "And since you already know me, or at least my previous self, you also knew what I tried to do after I got the Lance,"  
"Y-you tried to kill yourself," Shinji state.  
"Yep," Ranma said, "And today, I'm going to try and succeed where I failed last time,"  
"Wait!" Shinji said.  
"What?" he asked in annoyance.  
"H-how could you do this?" he asked, "How can you choose death over life? Can your life be that horrible that you don't want to live?"  
Ranma said, "You're not me,"  
Without saying another word, Ranma plunged the weapon in to his chest. "No!" Shinji shouted.

"Oh my god! Oh my god! Oh my god!"  
Shinji repeated that probably a thousand times as he paced back and forth.  
Ranma had succeeded in killing himself. He lay motionless on his back, the Lance protruding from his chest. The Lance remained protruding because, no matter how hard he tried, Shinji was unable to remove it, the Lance too heavy for him to lift. He didn't even want to bother trying to comprehend what made the Lance so heavy.  
If it weren't for the fact that Shinji was so distraught over what had happened, he would've noticed that there looked to be a sense of peace on Ranma's face.  
"What am I gonna do?" Shinji asked himself.  
The best way to describe his current situation was that he was 'shit outta luck'. The one person that could've helped him had killed himself. What made it worse was that Shinji never suspected it. He should've noticed that something was strange when Ranma expressed more interest in the weapon than anything else.  
In a way, Shinji was right back at square one. No, he was worse off. At least when he was at square one, he still had a purpose, to find Ranma and ask for his help. Now, he didn't even have that. He had no idea what to do, where to go, or how to do it. He could've perhaps been a little better off had Ranma bothered to resurrect his friends before taking his own life, but it seemed that would've made it to easy for Shinji. The sky darkened as black clouds formed about, blocking out the clouds. It also started pouring a moment later. It seems that now that Ranma was no longer around to 'will' the bad weather away, it reverted back to the way it used to be.  
"What am I gonna do?"  
Shinji paced back and forth in the pouring rain as he continued to ponder what to do. Several hours had passed since Ranma had taken his own life and he still had no idea of what to do now.  
Several times he had tried to lift the Lance, trying to force some of his dormant powers to work, all attempts failing. He guessed that the Lance probably weighed several thousand pounds, far heavier than he could lift. "I don't understand how my powers work," Shinji said, "Ranma even showed and told me how to mess around with the weather and I can't get that to work,"  
He tried to 'will' the bad weather away, much to no avail.  
Shinji glanced over toward the small mound of tired just off to the side where the Lance stuck out. Ranma rested there. Since Shinji could not move the Lance, he had simply buried him right where he lay, letting the Lance act as a tombstone.  
"Damn you," Shinji sneered, "How can you be so damn selfish?"  
Unfortunately, he was never going to know. It had been his mistake assuming what he assumed. Never had it occurred to him that Ranma had somehow kept his memories nor have he ever believed Ranma would try something like take his own life once again.  
"Goddamn rain," he muttered. What he could use right now was a nice dry and clean pair of clothes. However, what he needed to worry about first is to get the bad weather to go away. Once that was gone, he could dry off and look around to getting some clean clothes.  
Shinji felt like an idiot as he found himself waving his hand across the sky and saying random sayings like, 'Leave', 'Go away', 'Disappear', 'Be gone', 'Shoo', ''Fucking leave already', and many other sayings, none of them working. As he did that, he constantly visualized the clouds disappearing.  
Shinji found himself starting to get annoyed as he couldn't figure out what to do. He wanted to rain to go away so he could be dry but nothing was happening...  
The raining suddenly disappeared as the clouds started parting, revealing the clear night sky.  
Shinji was in a state of shock as he tried comprehend what had just occurred.  
"D-did I just do that?"

new stuff 11/24

Shinji figured out how to control the weather. It took him close to twenty four hours of trial-and-error before he realized how, but he finally figured it out.  
It turned out that visualizing the clouds parting and the rain stopping was just half of the requirement. He had to visualize while thinking of the reason for why he wanted that to happen. Ranma had mentioned that he changed the weather on his world because it annoyed him. It had been Shinji's mistake for dismissing that. He had no idea how he could possibly catch something so subtle. His friend Ranma was extremely observant and would've caught that, but not Shinji. It took three tries before Shinji figured out exactly what he was supposed to do. What took him so long to get it down right was that he made the mistake of waiting for the bad weather to arrive so he could get rid of it, the wait usually taking several hours. He felt like an idiot after he figured it out and realized that he probably would've gotten it within an hour had he tried to figure controlling the weather in reverse, that is, making the clouds form and rain and then trying to make them go away instead of waiting for the bad weather to occur naturally.  
Used to his new power, Shinji was shocked as he was 'literally' creating miracles. When he realized the he should've controlled the weather completely, bringing the bad weather and ridding it, he did it several times before he became satisfied that he had mastered it and let the clouds and rain remain away.  
Shinji was very happy when he figured out how to control the weather. His happiness was crushed when he tried to apply the same theory to lifting the Lance and finding himself unable to. He had visualized himself lifting the Lance and thinking of the reason, because he needed to use it, but he found the Lance unyielding and refusing to budge.  
Shinji scratched his head, "How the heck do I do this? Is there a different way of doing it?"  
After trying to lift the Lance for a good hour or so, much to no avail, Shinji realized that he had no idea how to do it. He found himself looking at his hands which were both raw and bleeding from the strain.  
"I need to try a different approach," Shinji said.  
He began pacing back and forth, brainstorming for a good hour before he came up with an idea.  
"Wait, why didn't I think of it before!" Shinji snapped his fingers, "I can try and bring back the others!"  
He quickly dismissed trying that. God forbid he did something wrong and brought them back and made them suffer. Their bodies would be badly decomposed now and he feared that he might bring them back and in to those bodies. It would be a horrible for them and he didn't want to risk that.  
"No, I won't try and bring them back," he said, "There's too many things that can go wrong. I'd rather go on without them on my own instead of risking them suffering,"  
Shinji sighed as he began pacing back and forth again, trying to think of what to do next. He found himself out of options. He could neither bring his friends nor lift the Lance.  
A good hour passed before he came up with an idea.  
"I know, I can go to a different world and bring someone from there that can wield the Lance," Shinji said. His face became somber as he realized something, "But what world can I go to? And how the heck do I go about doing it?"  
He realized that that was a futile plan because he remember Urd commenting on how only he could wield the Lance. Afterall, he had properties of God, a key requirement. Only a god can kill a god. Therefore, even if he could find someone that was powerful enough to use it, he or she would not be able to kill with it.  
This brought up a question he had. If the Ranma he knew had expected Shinji to kill him using the Lance, how would that had been possible? If Shinji had been around when all of this happened, he would be in the same situation as before, unable to wield the Lance.  
Little did Shinji know that had he been there, Ranma would've showed him how to wield it before all of this happened. Ryoga was capable of wielding it and it had been expected he would use it to slow their opponent down while Shinji does the killing blow. Shinji sighed, "God killing God. This is just crazy. Only three people could kill Ranma. One of them killed himself. The other one can't risk fighting him. And the last one is myself and I have no idea how to lift, let alone wield the Lance. There's gotta be another way,"  
Shinji continued pacing back and forth.  
"God killing God!" Shinji's eyes widened.  
There was a way! Unit-01 was considered a god after it ate that Angel and acquired the ability to no longer need a power supply. Unit-01 was incredibly powerful and would be able to lift the Lance. Of course, considering its size, it would seem like a human wielding a toothpick. However, it wasn't all that far-fetched. Shinji was a pilot and there was a good chance that he could pilot Unit-01 skillfully enough to land the killing blow with the Lance.  
If he was going to do that, he would have to go to the world he was from, not the one with that supped-up version of Unit-01 since that version never ate an Angel and was never reached that level of existence the original Unit-01 had reached.  
"That's it! I'm going to go to my world and steal Unit-01!"  
Shinji stopped as he realized something.  
"How the heck am I going to get there?"

In a different world, a world that was about to engage in battle with an Angel, the streets of Tokyo-3 was eerily quiet. This was because everyone had taken to the shelters to avoid being killed in the inevitable Angel attack.  
Because it was so quiet, it was very easy to hear the announcement that echoed through the entire city. "Today at 12:30, a state of special emergency has been declared within Kanto and Chubu districts, around Tokai district. Please take refuge in the designated shelters. Repeat... Today-" a voice could be heard.  
A bright flash of light appeared right in front of a train station, signaling Shinji's arrival on to that world.  
It took a moment for Shinji to orient himself to where he was. Unfortunately, he had forgotten that this world, like every other world, was suffering the horrible weather that seemed to foreshadow the eventual destruction of all that existed, provided Shinji could not do a thing about it.  
Shinji found himself soaking wet within moments upon emerging on that world. Annoyed, Shinji waved a hand skyward and visualized the dark clouds parting and the rain stopping. To his constant amazement, it did just that, the clouds clearing up to reveal a clear sunny sky.  
Shinji smiled happily, forgetting about the fact that he was now soaking wet, "God! That's really me! It's really me that did that!" He became serious and cleared his throat, blushing slightly from being so easily amused. Perhaps it was a combinations of things that made him a bit giddy. Somehow, without quite understanding, he had opened up a portal to this world. He thought about this world in the same manner as when he thought about the other world. However, this time around, he didn't have Ranma touching him on his shoulder, figuring that Ranma could channel his powers through Shinji provided Shinji thought of where to go.  
When Shinji had noticed the portal open up to this world suddenly, and without Ranma's help, it led Shinji to believe that perhaps he was the one that had conjured the first portal. Unfortunately, there was no telling if that was true or not. Besides, it didn't really matter because that was rather trivial. So long as he got to the world he had originally intended, that was what mattered.  
He looked around to survey his surroundings. It took a moment for him to recognize where he was. He was at a familiar looking train station. This made him happy as he realized that he had ended up on the right world.  
"Now that I know where I showed up, I need to figure out when I showed up," he asked himself. Glancing around, he noticed something rather odd. There was no one around.  
"Today at 12:30, a state of special emergency has been declared within Kanto and Chubu districts, around Tokai district. Please take refuge in the designated shelters. Repeat... Today-" a voice could be heard.  
Shinji's eyes widened as he recognized those words. He remembered hearing that the first time he showed up in Tokyo-3.  
"Oh my god! I showed up right before when the first Angel attacked!" he said.  
He looked around and noticed a familiar looking phone booth a short distance down the block.  
"T-that's where I tried to call Misato but got a message that the phone lines were not operating due to a state of emergency!" Shinji said, running up to the phone booth.  
As he stood there, something occurred to him, if he was here, where was the Shinji of this world, the younger version of himself.  
He looked around, expecting to see his younger self wandering around but saw no one. This confused him as he began to wonder why.  
"Wait a minute," Shinji said, "I know. My existence replaced Shinji's existence on this world. So that means, right now, I'm in the role of the Shinji of this world's shoes. When the God-version of Ranma went to the world of his previous self, he replaced the Ranma of that world. I'm in the same situation as Ranma,"  
Two missiles flew right by him overhead, causing Shinji to watch it as it sailed across the sky. His eyes widened when he saw them his a giant green humanoid-looking Angel in the far off horizon. Shinji was in a state of speechlessness.  
He watched as the Angel extended an arm in the direction of a hovering aircraft and shot out a pole-like object from its claw-like hand and destroyed it. A giant portion of the aircraft fell down where it landed right by Shinji. "Whoa," Shinji said.  
He glanced toward the side just as he saw the Angel seemingly take flight from where it was and land right by him, one of its feet stepping on the broken off piece of aircraft.  
Shinji was in a such a state of speechlessness that he didn't even bother to move react instinctively like shield his eyes from when the aircraft exploded.  
As he stood there, a blue sports car pulled up right next to him.  
He looked over where, to his expectation as well as his surprise, he saw Misato, the Misato of this world.  
"Get in!" she shouted at him, opening the passenger side door.  
Shinji just stood there and regarded her. He couldn't believe who he was looking at. It was Misato. Sure, it was a different Misato than the one he knew, but it was still Misato nonetheless. "Get in!" she repeated, her words louder.  
Shinji climbed in to the car. The moment he closed the door, Misato slammed on the accelerator and the car sped off, just in the nick of time from getting crushed under the foot of the Angel as it took as step.  
He found himself staring at Misato as she drove down the empty street a high speeds. She looked exactly like the Misato he knew. He didn't even bother to hide his staring. His eyes were transfixed on her. It was actually forcing himself from hugging her tightly, vicariously wanting to hug a friend he missed so terribly.  
"You like what you see?" Misato smirked, noticing Shinji's gaze.  
"Yes," he said without thought. He definitely liked seeing her again. Of course, she had no idea who the young man sitting next to her really was. Misato blushed. Shinji seemed much different that the information given to her indicated. He didn't seem all that shy and passive. Also, he looked physically different than the picture she had of him. He didn't even look fourteen. He was taller and more muscular than any average fourteen year old, that was for sure. At least he was cute. What the hell was she thinking?  
"Um, I'm sorry I was late in picking you up," Misato commented.  
Shinji smirked. He was feeling such a sense of nostalgia. Unless he said something that might change the course of the conversation from what he remembered, he knew exactly what Misato was going to ask.  
"It's no problem," Shinji said, "I didn't wait long,"  
"That's good to hear,"  
"What was that big thing I saw back there?" Shinji asked, remembering asking that back then, already knowing the answer.  
"That was an Angel," Misato said, "The UN army is currently trying to fend it off but it doesn't seem to be having much effect. It seems like conventional weapons are ineffective against it,"  
Heh, so will the N2 mine that will be set off a couple of minutes from now, Shinji thought.  
Misato went on to talk about Angels. Shinji pretended he was paying attention. He found himself wanting to correct Misato when she made the mistake of saying the Angel was currently of unknown origin and its intentions were unknown as well. Of course, if he told her what he knew, then that would make her very suspicious and that would make his hidden agenda harder to accomplish when the time comes.

Misato's breasts were right in Shinji's face. He also noticed that she wasn't wearing a bra because he could see her nipples pressing against the fabric of her outfit. Misato was looking through a pair of high power binoculars out through the window by Shinji's side. Because of where he sat, Misato's breasts were dangerously close to his face and this made Shinji feel a bit awkward.  
He was a guy, afterall.  
"What are you doing?" Shinji asked, ignoring Misato's breasts and looking about the car.  
"I just want to see how the UN's doing against the Angel," she commented, her gaze through the binoculars and toward the horizon at the Angel.  
Shinji looked at his watch, which he had already set to match this world's current time. The N2 mine would be going off in exactly one minute from now so that left him with very little time.  
He noticed that Misato's seat belt was off. When she tells him to duck for cover, he would have to snap the seat belt on so she won't get any scratches. He remembered she got scratched up because of the interior of the car when they went tumbling side-over-side when the N2 shockwave struck the car.  
"Waitaminute! No way! They're going to use an N2 mine!" Misato shouted, "Shinji, get down!"  
In the distant horizon, a bright light lit the sky, suddenly disappearing to reveal a giant mushrooming cloud of smoke as an N2 mine was detonated where the Angel was.  
She grabbed Shinji's head and pulled it down in to her lap as she threw herself over him. As she did so, Shinji's hands quickly shot out and snapped Misato's seatbelt on. He also slipped his body out from under her and made it so that she was under him instead of the other way around.  
"What the," she tried to say.  
"It'll be safer the other way around," Shinji said, just as the shockwave from the explosion of the N2 mine reached the car.  
The car tumbled on its side, flipping several times, Shinji's body absorbing the brunt of the force as he and Misato slammed back and forth within the body of the car. When the shockwave passed, Shinji and Misato were okay.  
"You okay?" he asked.  
Misato had a rather surprised look on her face, "Y-yeah. Actually, I was about to ask you the same thing,"  
"I'm fine," he said, removing his seat belt and climbing out of the car through the open window. Since the car was on its side, he had to climb out of the passenger side window.  
Misato looked down and noticed that her seat belt was one. She could've sworn she had removed her seat belt when she scooted over to look out the window by Shinji's side.  
She yelped in surprise when she felt the whole car begin to tip over while she was still inside. When she realized what was happening, she found herself looking out the windshield at the world correctly, the car now back on its four wheels instead of being on its side.  
She looked toward the side and watched as Shinji climbed back in to the car.  
Shinji gave a shy smile, "Hey, the car was on its side so I pushed it back over,"  
"B-but you just did it by yourself," she commented, shock in her voice. How strong was this fourteen year old boy? Shinji nodded, "Yeah. I didn't need help,"  
He was pretty sure Misato was shocked at seeing what she believed a fourteen year old boy was capable of doing. Luckily for him, his body wasn't replaced by that of a fourteen year old so he possessed his own body and strengths. Something like righting a car was easy for him.  
"Ready to go?" he smirked.

Shinji contemplated telling Misato where to go but chose against it. The two of them were both in Nerv yet Misato seemed to be lost. Shinji found it mildly amusing as she tried to figure out the map.  
In his hands was a Nerv manual that Misato had given him. He didn't both to read it, have read it back then. All it mentioned was of proper conduct within the facility.  
"You're lost," Shinji said.  
"I'm not lost," Misato lied.  
"Uh huh," Shinji shrugged. Everything felt he same but different to him. As he followed her, he noticed how small she looked. Actually, she didn't look small. It was just that this time around, he wasn't as small as he was supposed to be. He was actually taller than Misato and probably a good seventy pounds heavier. The two continued on walking for several minutes until they found an elevator that would take them to their destination. Shinji looked at his watch and noticed what time it was.  
When the elevator door opened, it revealed Ritsuko.  
Misato seemed surprised.  
"Hi there, Ritsuko," Misato gave a sheepish smile.  
"Why're you wasting my time? Don't you know we're short on time and manpower?" Ritsuko narrowed her eyes at Misato.  
"Sorry," Misato said.  
Ritsuko turned toward Shinji. When she looked at him, she noticed him staring at the chest area of her outfit. This was because she was wearing a swimsuit underneath the lab coat that was opened in the front. He had been wondering why she was wearing a swimsuit in the first place.  
"Um," Shinji blushed, averting his gaze, "H-hi. Um, I couldn't help but notice you wearing a swimsuit under your labcoat,"  
Ritsuko closed up the front of her lab coat, "I was paged when I was conducting some underwater tests," She couldn't help but feel a bit embarrassed. She knew she had a nice body and it felt nice that it was being acknowledged, even if it was a form of staring.  
"Okay," Shinji seemed satisfied with the answer.  
"So, is this the boy?" Ritsuko asked.  
"According to the Marduk report, he's the third child," Misato commented.  
Shinji smiled. He couldn't help but want to hug Ritsuko much like how he wanted to hug Misato. It was so nice to see her again, even if it wasn't really her.  
"He's nothing like his father," Misato commented, "It seems like the reports about him are completely off,"  
"I can tell just from looking at him," Ritsuko commented, "You don't look fourteen, that's for sure,"  
Shinji gave a shy smile, "Um, thanks. I have no problems with that,"  
"Don't be so eager to be an adult," Misato smirked, "It's not all it's cracked up to be,"  
Shinji couldn't help but chuckle. Boy, was she right.

Shinji's heart was racing.  
He knew he would eventually meet Gendo Ikari, a man he hated. He had pushed the stress of the inevitable encounter with him in the back of his mind, but he knew he would see his father, or at least an alternate version of him, in a few minutes from now.  
Shinji and Misato and Ritsuko were on a small boat crossing what looked like a giant liquid containment chamber. Shinji knew that this was where Unit-01 was stored, submerged under the liquid all the way up to its shoulder.  
When he was introduced to Unit-01, at least the head portion of it, he pretended his was surprised and acted as if he was trying to look it up in the manual in his hands.  
"You're not going to find anything about in there," Ritsuko commented.  
Heh, I know, Shinji thought. But I just wanted to put up a front like I didn't know.  
"This is man's ultimate fighting machine," Ritsuko added, "A synthetic lifeform known as Evangelion, Unit-01, and was built here in secret. This is mankind's last and final hope,"  
"Actually, isn't that redundant? Last and final are one and the same," Shinji corrected, "Just saying something like 'This is mankind's final hope' should work fine,"  
Ritsuko gave Shinji and odd look, "Are you mocking me?"  
Shinji raised his hands defensively, "Not at all,"  
He had merely wanted to try and change the flow of conversations. It was kind of boring hearing everything all over again. Perhaps it was best to just play along and not try and do anything really dramatic.  
"So, my prick of a father made this?" Shinji smirked.  
At that moment, Gendo's voice, "That's correct,"  
Everyone turned their attention toward a balcony locate behind Unit-01 where they saw Gendo standing.  
"That you're a prick? You didn't need to point that out cause I already know," Shinji sneered.  
Gendo face-faulted. He had actually been referring to him making the Evangelion.  
"Did you wait there to make that 'dramatic' entrance?" Shinji mocked him, "Ain't that pathetic of you?"  
Shinji didn't care about what he said toward his father. Actually, he hoped he could offend him in anyway. Seeing him again made him realize something, that he truly and sincerely hate his father. If he had to kill his father again, he would not hesitate.  
Gendo narrowed his eyes toward his son. Such animosity. It seems like his son finally grew a backbone. This was quite a change in pace. He had figured his son would be a meek and passive boy that could would easily follow orders.  
Shinji took several deep breaths. It was best not try and deviate from what he experienced back then. However, he had to admit, it felt really good to call his father a prick right to his face. He had "We're moving out," Gendo said.  
"Moving out? But Unit-00 is still in cryo-statis," Misato gasped, "Wait, are you going to use Unit-01? We don't have a pilot reserve pilot,"  
"We've got one," Ritsuko said.  
"You mean Shinji?" Misato gasped.  
"No prob. I'll pilot it," Shinji interrupted.  
Shinji felt like he was getting bored hearing to the dialog being played out. It was like taking part in a play that he cared not to play in once again. Besides, if he continued to play his part, then that meant he would have to pretend he was scared to pilot it which would lead to a badly hurt Rei being wheeled out to take over for him.  
As much as he would've liked to pretend he didn't want to pilot so he could see Rei, he cared enough for her that he didn't want her disturbed.  
She needed her rest.

The cool feel of the LCL filling up the entry-plug felt nostalgic, much like everything else. He didn't bother holding his breath, knowing that it was better to just take it in to his lungs initially rather than resist.  
He watched as the entry plug flickered with through several colors as the system was turned on an initialized. As he waited to be sent out to battle, he touched his hands on the controls in front of him. He had to admit that it felt nice to be holding the controls of Unit-01 again.  
"Wow, he didn't seem to resist," Misato commented from the command center, "You'd think that a person's instinct would be to hold his breath,"  
"Very interesting," Ritsuko was intrigued, "That does seem a bit odd,"  
There were several things she found odd about Shinji. The first was that he looked and acted nothing like what she expected. It was obvious that it was him but for reports about him to be so off was very unexpected.  
"You're not going to believe this but Shinji's synchro rate is at one hundred percent," Maya called out from her terminal a short distance away.  
"Incredible," Misato said, "How can he get such a high rate? I thought it was impossible, especially with someone with no experience like Shinji,"  
Within the entry plug, Shinji watched looked at the screen as the wall in front of him was moving down at a rapid rate. This was because Unit-01 was on a high speed lift and he was staring out and toward the wall in front of him and he moved up that lift. Unit-01 has a power cable attached to it, Shinji thought, not wanting to talk aloud for fear that his voice could be heard. Since it has a power plug, that means I need to eat the Angel so it no longer needs power.  
Shinji smiled.  
He wondered if he was ever going to see his mother within the entry plug. Afterall, Unit-01 was his mother. It had absorbed her long ago while she was within so it had her consciousness. He remembered her saving him on several times. He remembered when she first saved him. On the other world, when Unit-01 moved her hand to protect Shinji from the falling rafters, it had been believed that he had somehow 'willed' Unit-01 to move its arm and protect him when, in fact, it had been his mom protecting him.  
Mom, you there he thought, wondering if she could hear her thoughts. If you can hear what I'm thinking, then you might know what I'm planning on doing. I hope you don't mind. I need your help. I'm going to make you become a god so you can wield the Lance for me.  
A sudden jolt in the cockpit made Shinji realize that the high speed lift had came to a halt.  
He looked up at the display in front of him and saw the city in front of him. He was within Tokyo-3 and the Angel was somewhere within. It would only be a short time before he encountered it.  
"Shinji," came Misato's voice, "Try and concentrate on walking,"  
"Okay," he did as he was told. He felt tempted to show off an make Unit-01 do a little pirouette or funny dance move but that would be overdoing it. It was best to put up a front as usual. He made Unit-01 take a step and purposely let her trip over her own feet and fall flat on her stomach.  
I'll let the Angel beat the crap outta me so I can make Unit-01 move like the way I want it to without making anyone suspicious, Shinji thought. That way, everyone in the control center would think the EVA went berserk. I'll use that opportunity to eat the Angel and take in its core so Unit-01 will become self-  
sufficient.  
A second later, he found himself being picked up by the Angel by the face.  
Go on and hit me a few times, Shinji thought impatiently.  
As it held Unit-01 off the ground by the face, the Angel did some kind of scan of Unit-01. In doing so, it suddenly started acting differently than what was expected, which was to attack him. Instead, it put Unit-01 back down on its feet and turned around and began walking away.  
What the hell, Shinji thought. How come it isn't attacking me like expected? Its walking off as if it just helped me get back up to my feet. What the hell's going on here.  
Shinji figured he should try and do it again.  
He made Unit-01 trip over her own feet again and fall flat on her stomach.  
To his and everyone's surprise, the Angel turned back around and approached Unit-01 again and picked it up by its face, helping it to its feet before walking off.  
Oh my god, Shinji thought, realizing what was going on. The Angel's helping me out! It doesn't think I'm here to fight it! What the hell am I supposed to do?  
Little did Shinji know that the reason for the Angel doing that was that it detected Shinji within Unit-01. It viewed Shinji as its superior and dared not hurt him. Instead, it wanted to help him out if possible before going about with its task of attacking the city.  
"Shinji, it doesn't seem to view you as a threat!" he heard Misato's voice, "Use that to your advantage and do a pre-emptive attack,"  
"Okay,"

Shinji looked at the screen, a look of shock on his face.  
The Angel lay on its back, motionless. It was struck once by a well-place open-palm strike from Unit-01 and was killed, the core that was located in its chest area completely shattered.  
Damnit, what the hell did I do wrong, Shinji thought. I was supposed to make Unit-01 eat the core but that one attack killed the Angel! I hit the damn thing once and killed it! This wasn't supposed to happen!  
There went his one chance to turn Unit-01 in to a god, all because he hit the Angel once. He figured the Angel was stronger than that and can survive at least one hit. Since it was humanoid in look, Shinji had instinctively made Unit-01 in the chest area to stun it so he could then proceed to eat the Angel. But what happened? It freaking died with just one hit! Shinji knew that the Angel was every bit as powerful as when he first fought it in his own world. It was just unfortunate that he had forgotten that he had gotten that much more powerful and better a pilot since then.  
Shinji sighed. He couldn't believe it. He would have to wait three weeks until the next Angel attacked which gave him a chance at taking in its core. Three weeks was a long time. There was no telling that Urd could continue to avoid Ranma. Did he have Ranma's odd luck? Didn't something like this usually happen to Ranma?  
Shinji had accidentally defeated an Angel when he was purposely trying not to.

Shinji was walking down the corridor with Misato, on their way to meet up with Ritsuko after the defeat of the Angel. As they walked along, they came to a stop when they saw Gendo coming down the corridor from the other direction.  
Misato paused to salute him when Gendo stopped right in front of the two of them. She noticed how father and son looked fairly similar. They stood about the same height and had the same build, Shinji perhaps a bit more muscular. If Gendo grew his hair longer, it would look exactly like Shinji's.  
"Good job, Shinji," Gendo commented.  
Shinji narrowed his eyes at Gendo. Perhaps if he was na ve to everything that was going on and was the same meek boy he used to be, he might feel a great sense of happiness. However, he was not that same boy as back then. The commented meant nothing to him.  
"So?" Shinji sneered, "What, you think I care about receiving praise from you?"  
Gendo smirked at Shinji, seemingly amused.  
It annoyed Shinji that he didn't seem to get a rise out of Gendo. He watched with narrowed eyes as Gendo said a quick word to Misato on a job well done before he walked off.  
Shinji sneered.  
"Prick,"

Shinji sneered as he flung a staff member across the medical room with one arm. The guy was a large man but he was flung bodily like he weighed nothing, like a rag doll. He had grabbed Shinji's right arm while an equally large man seized his left arm in an attempt to restrain him.  
Ritsuko needed to take his blood for sampling and Shinji didn't want to cooperate. Misato was in the room as well but she didn't dare to try and restrain him either.  
With one guy off of him, he flung the second guy across the room with ease. When both guys got up to his feet, they seemed reluctant to try and restrain him again.  
"Not interested," Shinji said with sneer, referring to giving blood.  
It was only around an hour since the defeat of the Angel and Shinji was in a medical room where he was supposed to be medically tested. "Your blood needs to be taken to ensure that you're okay after the battle," Ritsuko commented.  
"I've had enough with tests," Shinji said, "I'm fed up with 'em,"  
"What are you talking about, this is the first test," Ritsuko asked curiously, "How can you be fed up?"  
Shinji said nothing for a moment. He had momentarily forgotten that this was her first time trying to take his blood. He had been tested so many times on back then that he didn't want to give blood anymore or do any tests for that matter.  
He tried to brainstorm on what to do. He had to give blood since it was a requirement to be a pilot. However, it would be three weeks until the next Angel attacked. If they get a sample of his blood now, it would only be a week before they found out that his blood wasn't human in origin.  
"I need to take your blood," Ritsuko said, "It's mandatory to be a pilot,"  
"Fine, then I quit," Shinji said without hesitation.  
"W-what?" Misato was surprised at the comment.  
Shinji had this natural ability to pilot Unit-01. For him to quit and no longer be a pilot would be disastrous. Rei was still in serious condition and was still recovering.  
"I don't want to give blood," Shinji said, "So if it's mandatory, then I quit,"  
He had a plan. He would disappear for three weeks and come back and pilot Unit-01 once again since he would be needed then. Whether or not they accept him was a different story. However, he had ideas of what to do, even if it was illegal. If they didn't accept him, he would somehow find a way to get Rei out of the picture temporarily which would force Nerv to accept him back no matter what. It was rather devious but it would definitely work. Besides, that was something Ranma would do and Shinji knew he was no saint either. Actually, if he thought about it, it was rather convenient to be ethically challenged.  
"How can you be that against giving blood? Are you scared of needles?" Misato asked.  
"The point is moot," Shinji answered, "Because I quit,"  
"Hold up," Misato said, "There's got to be a different approach,"  
Shinji decided it was best to make a stand here.  
"Yeah, there's a different approach," Shinji said, "You don't take my blood and I'll remain a pilot. If it's mandatory and there's nothing you can do, then I quit,"  
Ritsuko found herself getting angry. Who was this fourteen year old kid to give ultimatums? Just because he managed to defeat the Angel on his first try didn't mean it gave him the rights to make demands.  
"Why are you so adamant about giving blood?" Ritsuko asked, narrowing her eyes. Something was fishy about that kid and she didn't like it. She had no idea what or why, but she knew something was fishy. It made her wonder if she should mention this to the commander.  
"I hate needles," Shinji lied, "Is that a good enough reason?"  
"But it doesn't hurt," Misato said, "It just feels like a little pinch. I'll give blood right now to show you that it doesn't hurt. You'll notice I don't wince in pain or anything,"  
Shinji said, "So?"  
"So why won't you give blood?" Ritsuko asked.  
"Cause I don't like needles," he answered, "That's a good enough answer. Take it or leave it. Frankly, I don't really care if you want me for a pilot or not. Besides, even if you don't use me as a pilot, you've still got Rei,"  
Ritsuko narrowed her eyes, catching that last commented.  
How did Shinji know Rei? She nor Misato had ever mentioned the name Rei.  
Misato turned toward Ritsuko, "I'm sure there's another way,"  
"Yes," she said, "I'll see what I can do about it. There's no need for you to give blood if it bothers you that much,"  
"Thanks," Shinji said, smiling. He was a bit happy. As much as he was willing to quit Nerv, he kind of didn't mind it either. It would give him something to do in the meanwhile until the next Angel attacked.  
"You can go wait outside, Misato'll be out in a second," Ritsuko told Shinji, "I just need to discuss something with her on how we are going to go about bypassing your blood test,"  
"Okay," Shinji said, leaving the medical room.  
Ritsuko turned toward the two medical staff members that Shinji had thrown off himself, "You two may go now,"  
When the two guys left leaving Ritsuko and Misato alone, Ritsuko turned toward her friend.  
"Something's very odd about Shinji," Ritsuko commented.  
"I know. How did he know Rei was the pilot? I never mentioned her,"  
Ritsuko smirked.  
"Considering your general lack of professionalism, you sure do surprise me at times," Ritsuko smirked.  
Misato narrowed her eyes.  
"You want to bring this to the commander's attention?" Ritsuko asked.  
"Not yet. We should keep a close eye on him though," Misato said, "There's definitely something odd about that boy,"  
Ritsuko agreed.

Shinji entered Misato's apartment for the first time, at least on that world.  
The first thing he noticed was that it looked exactly like he had expected, a giant mess. There was garbage all over the place and clothes strewn about.  
Shinji chuckled. Misato of this world was most likely the exact same Misato as any world, a slob that didn't seem to care about living in a filthy atmosphere.  
"Can you put the food in the fridge? I'm going to go get changed," Misato navigated through the mess and disappeared in to her room.  
Shinji down looked at the bag of snacks in his hands that Misato had picked up while they were on their way to her apartment. Misato had opted to have Shinji lived with her because of a few reasons. The main reason was that she wanted to keep a close eye on him, the second her not wanting Shinji and Gendo to live together. Even though it was supposed to be natural for father and son to live together, she believed it would be a volatile mix since Shinji seemed to have obvious animosity toward his father. She would ask him about that one day.  
"This place is messy as hell," Shinji smirked, not all that embarrassed about making such a tactless comment.  
"Sorry, I do kinda live messy," Misato said, "I would've cleaned up had I know you were going to be my roommate,"  
"Did you want me as a roommate so I could keep your place clean?" he asked.  
"That too," she smiled.  
Shinji laughed.  
It was the first time he laughed in quite a while.  
He placed the food away, unbothered by the sight of so much ice, snacks, and beer that filled the fridge. As he did, he glance over toward the second giant refrigerator that was PenPen's living quarters. He would say hi to that penguin soon enough.  
Misato emerged from her bedroom clad in some more comfortable clothes, a pair of short denim shorts and a yellow t-shirt.  
"I'll go prepare dinner," she said.  
Shinji said, "Um, no need. I'll prepare it,"  
He knew how to cook and was willing to cook since he knew Misato would choose to microwave a quick dinner for the two of them if need be. He needed something more nutritious. He had seen some groceries in the fridge that he could use to make a quick but simple meal.  
"You know how to cook?" Misato asked.  
Shinji nodded, "Yeah,"  
He didn't bother to mention that he knew how to cook because of Akane, at least some simple meals. Nothing fancy but nutritious nonetheless.  
"Well, if you really want to cook, then go right ahead," she said, "I haven't really eaten a nice home cooked meal in a while,"  
"Okay,"  
Misato looked at the schedule sheet in front of her.  
She couldn't believe what she was seeing. She had lost every single game of Janken, the Japanese version of 'Rock, Paper, Scissors'. It had been her idea to play that game to help decide which one of them would be doing a particular chore on a particular day. She had been so sure she would do really well. It seemed like she had been proven terribly wrong.  
"Well, it seems like it's been decided," Shinji said, "I guess there's no need to hang the schedule up as a reminder since you lost every game and will be doing all the chores every day,"  
Misato scratched her head, still shocked. Statistically, it was nearly impossible to win every game. However, it seemed like Shinji somehow managed to beat the odds.  
"Um, c'mon, you don't expect me to do all the chores, do you?" Misato gave a meek smile, giving him puppy-dog eyes.  
I know you would make me do all the chores if it was the other way around, Shinji thought.  
"Don't worry," he said, "I have no problem in doing the chores. Besides, it's probably hard enough that you're working all the time too,"  
"Right," Misato jumped at the opportunity, "You're perfectly right. It would only seem natural that we share responsibilities,"  
Shinji smirked.  
That was so typical of Misato.

"Whatcha waiting for?" Misato asked.  
"Nothing in particular," Shinji smirked.  
He checked his watch and waited around in front of the door that led to the bathroom. Misato regarded him for a moment as she went about drinking her beer, curious as to what he was up to. She had the sneaking feeling that Shinji definitely knew something she didn't know and didn't care to tell her.  
"So, Shinji, there's something I've been meaning to ask you," she began, wanting to make conversation with him. She found herself enjoying talking to him. He was a lot more mature than she had originally expected. He also seemed to be very smart, never asking stupid questions, only asking really inquisitive ones.  
Shinji turned toward Misato, "Ask me something? What is it?"  
"How come you seem to hate your father so much?" she asked, too curious to wait.  
She noticed the muscles around Shinji's jaw tightening.  
"Um, is that a delicate subject?" she asked.  
"I guess you can say so," Shinji said.  
Shinji was sorely tempted to tell her the truth about his father, that he was currently using her as a pawn in the main scheme of things, that he would eventually try and force Rei in to causing Third Impact. Of course, there was no need to tell her and worry her. It would just complicate things. Besides, after he was through with here, provided he didn't kill Gendo a second time around, Shinji would screw up Gendo's plans. He had no idea what he would do, but he would definite do something. Perhaps he would tell the media about Seele and the Human Instrumentality project. Heck, perhaps he could do something even more extreme like steal Lilith and Adam and bring them along with him when he went back home. "Um, was it because your dad abandoned you ten years ago?" she asked, regretting so after she realized what she had said.  
Shinji smirked, "He's a prick. Isn't that a good enough reason?" Misato gave a sheepish smile. Such animosity. She didn't think Gendo Ikari was a prick. He was sometimes a bit hard to work with and uptight but that was because so much as resting on his shoulders. At that moment, the bathroom door opened to reveal PenPen.  
Shinji watched as PenPen walked right by him and up to the fridge next to the door, disappearing in to the fridge after pressing a button that opened the entrance to that fridge.  
"What was that?" Shinji asked, smiling slightly, knowing it was best to ask that.  
"That was PenPen," Misato answered, "He's a warm-water penguin. H-how'd you know he was in there?"  
Shinji lied, "I saw him enter when I was putting the food away and when you were getting changed. I forgot to ask during dinner. I just remembered as I was about to take a shower,"  
"Oh," she said, "I guess that makes sense,"  
It would seem strange that Shinji knew what was going to happen before it happened, afterall.

Shinji gazed out the window of his classroom.  
It was the following day after the Angel attack and he was already expected to attend school. In the other world, he didn't have to go to school for two days after his arrival in Tokyo-3. But then again, perhaps it was because he had been injured then and had to be watched over to make sure he was physically fit to be released.  
Since the battle had gone well, he found himself in school earlier.  
Shinji looked about the classroom. In the back corner he saw Rei and, to his surprise, Toji. Kensuke and Hikari were also there in class. When he noticed Toji, he assumed that Toji's sister hadn't gotten hurt during the battle so there was no reason for him to be out of school to visit her at the hospital.  
He felt a bit self-conscious of himself as he sat among fellow classmates. This was because of his size. He was a good deal larger than the largest kid in the class, that being Toji.  
Toji. It was really nice seeing him again. The Toji he knew had lost an arm and a leg in his first outing as an EVA pilot due to an Angel having seizing control of his EVA back then.  
Seeing a perfectly fine Toji made Shinji rather happy. He would go talk to Toji. Since he had some time before the next Angel attack, he might as well enjoy the company of some old friends he had left behind long ago.  
A piece of chalk flew toward his head, narrowly missing him as he managed to react in time to weave in his chair and avoid getting hit. The piece of chalk ended up hitting the male student behind him.  
The class broke out in laughter as well as Shinji.

"So, you're the new kid, huh?" Toji approached Shinji. He and Kensuke approached him as he was on his way home back to Misato's place.  
Shinji nodded, "Yeah. Um, how're you doing? I'm Shinji Ikari,"  
"I'm Toji Suzuhara," Toji said, jerking a thumb toward his friend, "This here's Kensuke Aida,"  
Shinji regarded the two of them for a moment. It felt a bit weird seeing them again. Sure, he was happy to see them, but it looked as if he was looking at them from a different perspective. This was because he was taller than both Toji and Kensuke. "I'm surprised that new people are coming to this place," Toji commented, "You'd think that people would be leaving this place considering what had just happened yesterday,"  
Shinji nodded, "Yeah, I agree,"  
"So, whatcha think of your first day of class?" Kensuke asked, adjusting his glasses.  
Shinji said, "It was kinda fun. The teachers are idiots though,"  
Toji and Kensuke laughed in agreement.  
Shinji smiled. The three of them would be good friends in no time.

Misato was having some morning coffee, getting ready to go to work, when she wandered out on to the balcony and caught sight of Shinji down in the apartment courtyard.  
She noticed Shinji doing katas.  
"I didn't know Shinji knew martial arts," Misato said to herself. She leaned on the balcony railing and watched him intently. After a short time, she came to the realize that, even though she didn't know martial arts first-hand, Shinji was a skilled martial artist. She watched as he changed from doing katas to kicking at a nearby tree. She found herself wincing as she noticed Shinji was actually hitting the tree with his shins and not his feet.  
"Ouch," she said, "How can that not hurt?"  
Her eyes widened when she looked at the tree and noticed the tree shuddering with every impact of his shin against its side. That was definitely not normal. She needed to bring this to Ritsuko's attention.

"Hey, Ritsuko, what brings you here?" Shinji was surprised to when he answered the door and found Ritsuko standing on the other side, "Misato's taking a shower. She should be out shortly. Please, come on in,"  
"Thanks," she said, entering, "I'm a bit early,"  
"Early? For what?" he asked. He didn't recall ever seeing Ritsuko at Misato's place back then on the other world, at least not so soon after he had taken up residence at her place.  
"Misato called me by, there's something the two of us would like to discuss with you," Ritsuko said.  
Shinji couldn't help but feel suddenly nervous. If Ritsuko ever needed to sit someone down to talk to with them, that meant it must be something serious and he assumed it was most likely something serious about him.  
They waited for Misato to emerge from the bathroom.  
"You're early," Misato commented, dressed but drying her hair with a towel.  
"I guess I couldn't help myself," Ritsuko said.  
Misato turned toward Shinji, "Shinji, Ritsuko and I would like to talk to you about something,"  
"Um, what's this about?" Shinji asked.  
"You," Ritsuko said.  
"Um, what about me?" he asked innocently.  
"Who are you?" both females asked in unison.  
"I'm Shinji Ikari, really," Shinji said truthfully.  
"You're not fooling us," Misato said.  
Ritsuko nodded, "I've done a bit a research in to you. Although the data about you is about a four months old, the difference between you now and before is too much of a change. There's no physical way you can grow as much as you did in such a short time,"  
"Maybe I had a growth spurt," Shinji commented.  
"What are you trying to hide?" Ritsuko asked.  
Shinji was silent. He couldn't believe how observant Ritsuko and Misato were. They really seemed to be able to figure things out based on the very little facts that they had. It seems like he had underestimated them.  
Shinji sighed.  
"It's a long story..."

new stuff 11/25

Both women were absolutely shocked at what they heard. Initially, they both thought Shinji was crazy to actually believe that he was some kind of god and from another world, but when he started going in to detail his past and revealed sensitive material that no one but a select few was to know about Nerv's true objective, they started listening.  
They spoke most of the night, Shinji spending it explaining everything. Whether or not they believed him, he had no real idea.  
"So that's why you knew Rei was a pilot?" Ritsuko asked.  
Shinji nodded, "Yeah, because she's a pilot along with me when I went through this before. I also know that a girl named Asuka Soryu Langley will be the next pilot you bring in. Toji will come afterwards,"  
Misato said, "Wow, you're right. Asuka was chosen to be relocated to Tokyo-3. For you to know that must mean that there's some kind of information leak on Nerv's tightly guarded secrets or you know what you're talking about,"  
Shinji chuckled, "Misato, actually, there are things about Nerv that you don't even know. For instance, Ritsuko here has higher security clearance and knows a lot of Nerv's true purpose,"  
"Like what?" Ritsuko believed Shinji was bluffing.  
"Like the Human Instrumentality Project," Shinji said without pause, "Like the fact that Nerv is here strictly to repel the Angels and that after that's done and over with, Seele, a secret organization, will try and implement Third Impact,"  
Misato turned toward Ritsuko, "Is that true?"  
Ritsuko's silence told volumes.  
"How come I was never informed of this?" Misato asked.  
"How did you get this information?" Ritsuko demanded an explanation.  
Shinji nearly shouted, "Are you not listening me? I already told you, I'm the future version of the Shinji you're supposed to have helping you out. What does it take to convince you?"  
"Fine, tell me a little bit about myself," Ritsuko said.  
"You're the daughter of Naoko Akagi," Shinji said, "She was the creator of MAGI, the main computer for Nerv. Your mom killed herself by jumping off the control center tower. You're a habitual smoker who will quit upon a suggestion from a man you like,"  
"A man I like? Who?" Ritsuko blushed.  
"You haven't met him," Shinji shrugged, "His name's Ranma but that's it. Anyway, is that reason enough to believe me?"  
Ritsuko was silent.  
"Fine, what do you know about me?" Misato asked, still skeptic but ready to believe him.  
Shinji turned toward her and said, "When you were young, you went with your dad on an expedition in Antarctica. You were the only one that survived from when Second Impact occurred. You have a scar across your chest from that incident,"  
Misato was stunned speechless.  
"What do you know about Seele?" Ritsuko asked, wondering if it was all right to ask such a question, what with Misato being there. However, since they were both in the thick of things, perhaps it didn't really matter.  
"Seele is a secret organization that even you don't know much about," Shinji said, "It's headed by a person named Lorenz. That prick of a father of mine works for Seele. They're interested in causing the Third Impact which result in humans evolving to a higher life form and to become one with God,"  
"Is this all true?" Misato asked Ritsuko.  
"Y-yes," Ritsuko said.  
"How come you never told me?" Misato asked.  
"Because," Ritsuko said, "It's on a need to know basis,"  
Shinji smirked, "Here's some stuff you don't know. After all the Angels are defeated, Seele will kill everyone working for Nerv, including you two,"  
"W-what?" both females said.  
"Do you believe me yet or should I go on?" Shinji asked patiently.  
"I believe you," Misato said truthfully, "But please go on. Tell us more. What's this thing about you becoming God or something and needing to kill God?"  
Shinji said, "I dunno much about that. I'm in such a world of shit that I dunno how the heck I'm gonna get out of it,"  
Misato asked, "How so?"  
"Like I said, I'm from an alternate version of this world," Shinji began, "That's why I know everything that I know. That also explains why I don't look fourteen, because I'm not. I'm older. Anyway, there was a guy that helped us out when Seele tried taking over Nerv. His name is Ranma. This guy reached the level of God. He gave up those power and passed it on to someone else, a Goddess named Urd. Now, I'm in a situation where that same guy someone went corrupt and is now trying to kill Urd. Basically, it's old-God trying to kill new-God,"  
"What happens if he succeeds?" Misato asked, at the edge of her seat.  
"All ceases to exist," Shinji said, "You guys are here fighting Angels to save humanity. I'm basically the next level up from what you guys are dealing with, on a whole grander scale. I hafta fight God to save all that exist,"  
"That doesn't explain why you're here in the first place, or frankly, how you got here," Ritsuko commented.  
"I'm here for Unit-01," Shinji said.  
At that moment, the front door exploded inward due to breeching charges placed on it from the team of highly-trained soldiers situated outside the apartment. The explosion was so loud that it disoriented the apartment occupants as they found themselves looking around to see what had happened, their ears ringing.  
"What's going on here?" Ritsuko was totally confused, looking around trying to figure out what had just happened.  
"What the?" Misato said as she noticed four highly-armed soldiers enter her apartment. Her eyes widened as she realized that it was some kind of SWAT team. Why were they there?  
From out of the corner of her peripheral vision, she caught sight of Shinji running straight toward the group of soldier. It seems he had gotten his bearings and assessed the situation far quicker than her or Ritsuko.  
Shinji, knowing his and Misato's and Ritsuko' lives were in danger, reacted instinctively as he grabbed the front-most incoming soldier by the forearm, twisting at an awkward angle, dislocating his shoulder, and sending the soldier flying in to the second incoming soldier, both of them falling to the ground.  
Before the third soldier was able to react in time, Shinji punched him hard in the fact, his neck cranking backwards at an awkward angle. Unfortunately for Shinji, the solider instinctively squeeze the trigger of his assault rifle as he fell backwards unconscious, a bullet catching him right in the left shoulder.  
A white piercing pain shot through Shinji's entire left shoulder as the bullet entered through the front part of his left shoulder and exited through his back portion. This caused his entire left arm to go limp as Shinji winced in agonizing pain and fell to the floor, clutching at his shoulder with his working arm.  
One of the soldiers stepped on Shinji's shoulder, pinning him in place, the pain making him unable to move.  
"G-get off m-me!" Shinji sneered, trying to fight back the excruciating pain.  
Misato and Ritsuko were still in a state of disorientation when they looked over and assault rifles trained on them. They immediately raised their arms in surrender, not wanting to be shot and killed.  
They watched in confusion as the two closest soldiers walked right up to them and individually struck them with the butts of their assault rifles, both of them sent in to unconsciousness.  
"Clear," one soldier called out, "Targets subdued,"  
A minutes later, Gendo entered the apartment. He looked down at Shinji, a puddle of blood forming around the young man. His visage showed no emotions of concern for Shinji.  
Shinji looked up through the tears of pain to see Gendo.  
"Now what are we going to do with you?" Gendo said.  
It was then that the butt of the forth soldier's assault rifle struck Shinji in the back of his head, sending him in to unconsciousness.

Shinji's head throbbed when he woke up a day later.  
Getting hit in the back of the head with the butt of an assault rifle was something he didn't not care to repeat. Funnily enough, a hangover probably felt worse than what Shinji was feeling.  
He shook the cobwebs from his head and looked about. He looked down at himself and found himself in a hospital bed. His left arm was in a sling, his shoulder bandaged up.  
He moved his left arm around in a bit but felt no pain.  
"Why am I bandaged up?" he asked himself. He proceeded to removed the bandages to see what kind of wound he had that merited him being all bandaged up. To his confusion, he found no wounds, not even a scratch. "Wait a minute, wasn't I shot?" he asked himself. He had a vague recollection of what had happened but his memory was a bit hazy. Perhaps he suffered some form of brain damage when he was hit in the back of the head and knocked unconscious.  
His eyes widened as he suddenly recalled what had happened to him. He had been shot and knocked unconscious. He had been talking with Ritsuko and Misato at Misato's place when it was suddenly stormed by soldiers wearing masks, some form of SWAT members.  
"What the heck happened back there?" he asked himself.  
After a short while, he came to the realization that he would most likely not find out any answers any time soon.  
Great, yet more unanswered questions.  
First thing first, he should figure out what happened to him. He had been shot but there were no wounds. Did that mean his body had somehow healed completely? "Man, it would be nice if I had some kinda AT field like Ranma," Shinji commented, "Then I wouldn'tve gotten hurt in the first place. Who knows, maybe that might happen sometime down the line,"  
He scratched his head, "Why did the place get stormed by those soldiers?"  
Knowing that he was asking questions he could not answer, he decided it was best to worry about the situation at hand. First, he needed to know where he was.  
Looking about, he noticed that, although he was in a hospital bed, he was not in some kind of hospital room. He was in some kind of cylindrical room with a giant circular steel door on one end of the room. The door looked like the interior side of a vault door, no handle or lever on his side. The room looked to have a ceiling fifty feet high.  
"Where the hell am I?" he asked himself.  
"You're in a holding cell," came a low voice, a voice Shinji instantly recognized.  
Shinji looked up and saw Gendo looking over him from the safety of a balcony around forty feet high up. The image of Gendo looking over him moments before he was knocked unconscious flashed through his mind. It made him suddenly realize that Gendo had something to do with the storming of Misato's apartment.  
"How long was I out?"  
"A day," Gendo answered, "I'm surprised you've recovered so quickly,"  
"Why have you brought me here?" he asked.  
"Because you know too much," Gendo said, "I don't know how you managed to know as much as you do, but you know way too much and you're a liability to the Human Instrumentality Project,"  
"How did you know that I know?" Shinji asked.  
"Misato's apartment, much like all operatives of Nerv, is bugged," Gendo said, "You've been under close observation ever since you refused a blood test. When it was revealed what you know, the appropriate actions were undertaken,"  
Shinji's hands clenched in to fists. How come he never figured that out, that Misato's apartment was bugged or that he had been watched all this time? Then again, he still had a lot to learn and needed to learn from his mistakes.  
"What happened to Misato and Ritsuko?" Shinji asked, remembering catching Misato and Ritsuko being knocked unconscious out of the corner of his eyes.  
"They're in a holding cell much like you," Gendo said, "They know too much. I don't need to have them running knowing what they know,"  
"But you need them," Shinji said. Surely, Gendo would not have them killed. That was just a thought that Shinji would not consider. They played too important a role in the grand scheme of things.  
Gendo smiled, "That's what you think,"  
"What are you going to do with them?" Shinji sneered.  
"They're going to be executed,"  
Shinji saw red as he exploded with anger.  
"I'm going to fucking kill you!" Shinji shouted, jumping out of his bed.  
The blankets fell to his feet to reveal that he had been wearing nothing under his clothes. However, the fact that he was completely naked didn't seem to bother him one bit, a sense of modesty taking a backseat to something as dire as Misato's and Ritsuko's safety. It was all his fault. He shouldn't had told them.  
Shinji looked around, brainstorming on a way to get out of that room.  
He ran up to the door and tried to open it, realizing that it was useless to try since there was no way of opening the door from the inside.  
"Don't even bother," Gendo said, "You're never going to open the door from the inside,"  
Shinji didn't hear Gendo's words as he knew he had to get out of there. He punched at the door a few times, his fist becoming embedded in it. The sounds of Shinji's fist hitting the door reverberated loudly in the room. Shinji went about hitting the door with open-palm strikes, the door shuddering under such an intense barrage of blows.  
From the balcony, Gendo had this shocked look on his face as he witnessed Shinji hitting at the door. It was a two-ton door yet Shinji was hitting it with such force that it looked like it wouldn't hold for long.  
"Let me the hell out!" Shinji shouted, continuing to punch at the door.  
After a few more punches, he suddenly realized something. There was an easier way of getting out of there.  
He jumped up and did a triangle jump off one wall and landed on the balcony, right in front of a shocked Gendo. With no sense of caring for how much he would hurt his father, Shinji reached out and grabbed Gendo by his neck, hated for him even more evident than the first time around. "Where are Misato and Ritsuko?" Shinji sneered.  
Gendo was in a state of shock from witnessing what he had witnessed. Given the time, Shinji would've broken a two-ton door using nothing but his punches. Above that, he had just reached a balcony located forty feet high up by jumping.  
Shinji actually took pleasure in slapping his father to get him to come to his senses. He felt bad about it, like he was some kind of sadist, but he couldn't help but feel good as well.  
"Where are Misato and Ritsuko?" he asked again.  
It wasn't until Shinji slapped him a second time did Gendo respond.  
"You're not going to get an answer from me," Gendo said.  
Shinji's jaw tightened. He found himself hating his father even more, "Fine, have it your way,"  
He threw his father off the balcony where Gendo landed on the ground of the room down below, hard. He made sure his father didn't land in the bed situated in the middle of the room, so he would have a hard landing and perhaps get hurt in the process.  
The fall knocked Gendo unconscious and Shinji couldn't help but smile.  
"How do you like me now, prick? I'm not that same boy you thought I would become!" Shinji's voice echoed in the room as he shouted down at his father's unconscious form.  
Shinji ran off down the balcony and through the door located on the other side.  
He needed to save Misato and Ritsuko.  
It would only be a matter of time before the entire building knew he had escaped.

Shinji shivered as he tried to make heads or tails of where he was within Nerv Headquarters. He had never seen this section of the building before. It also didn't help that he was stark naked and it was fairly chilly in the building.  
"Bah, I'd rather go naked than wear my father's clothes," Shinji said, continuing to sneak around.  
Shinji found himself sneaking down a long stretch of corridor, grateful that the door, although all of them locked, were in alcoves where he could hide from the few guards patrolling about.  
"Damn, wouldn't it be nice if an Angel attacked now to cause confusion," Shinji commented, "That would help me sneak around much easier,"  
He had the funny feeling that he was in some kind of holding facility located within Nerv because there were many guards walking about. With nothing on his person and the guard easily being able to see Shinji's approach down the corridor, Shinji realized he needed to be stealthy.  
After a moment of hiding, he came up with a plan.  
He knocked at the wall by the alcove where he was hiding. The sound echoed loudly in the expansive corridor. He had seen this in a video game before.  
"Huh? What was that?" a guard heard the noise. To Shinji's surprise and delight, the guard started walking in the direction of the alcove. When the guard was close enough, he dashed out from there and grabbed the guard from the side, making sure to pin the guard's arms to his side.  
When he grabbed a pair of breasts, he realized that the guard was female. When he got kicked between the legs by the struggling guard, he realized that she was definitely female since no guy would ever hit a guy in that area. That was just wrong.  
Shinji keeled over, the wind knocked out of him.  
However, he never let go. There was a good chance that she was armed and would use her firearm if she got one of her arms free.  
"Take off your clothes!" Shinji said. He needed clothes more than him. He did not want to run around naked.  
"Rape!" the female shouted when she heard his comment and noticed Shinji was naked.  
"No! I'm not trying that!" Shinji shouted, flushing a deep shade of red.  
The surprise made him let go where he suddenly found the girl making a mad dash down the corridor, running for her life, shouting that there was, not an intruder, but a rapist, loose in Nerv!  
"You've got it all wrong! It's all a misunderstanding! I meant to say 'Give me your clothes'" Shinji chased after her, not wanting her clothes, only wanting her to know that he meant her no harm.  
"Pervert!" the girl shouted, continuing to run away.  
As he chased after her, they came up to an intersection where he caught sight of a male guard walking around the corner to inspect what all the commotion was about. He didn't know what hit him for Shinji landed an open-palm strike on his chest, sending him flying bodily in to a wall where he then fell to the floor, knocked unconscious.  
Shinji quit chasing after the girl so he could stop by the unconscious male guard. He quickly searched through the guard for something he could use, finding a pair of keys.  
"Sorry about that," Shinji said toward the retreating girl's back.  
He threw the keys right at her, missing her by mere inches as she disappears around a corner. The key continued to sail forward where it landed a good deal down the corridor.  
"Damn, everyone's gonna know about me," Shinji muttered.  
Knowing that there was nothing much he could do, he proceeded to strip the guard of his pants. As he was putting them on, the corridor was suddenly bathed in red light as an alarm was sounded. Knowing that it was best to get out of there and fast, wearing nothing but a pair of pants, Shinji ran off down one of the other corridors.  
He needed to find Misato and Ritsuko, fast.

Misato heard the alarm as she sat in her holding cell.  
She was wondering what she was going to do. The holding cell she was in was similar to that of an isolation chamber. There were no windows and no light. There was a giant steel door that had a small opening in it for when food and water were to be passed through to her. She had no idea if it was even day or night.  
She had no real idea how she had gotten there. The last thing she remembered was talking to Shinji before she heard a loud noise and the butt of an assault rifle hitting her.  
She rubbed at her cheek where there was a large gash under her right eye. She got that when she had been struck. The gash was closed up with stitches but there would be a scar there forever. A girl's face was her life and now she had a scar on that precious face of hers. Whoever did this to her, she would make them pay...provided she lived through this ordeal.  
She felt humiliated also for she was naked as she sat on the concrete platform that had been her chair and bed for the past day or so since she had woken up in that room. She had spoken to no one since, not even receiving a response from whoever was giving her food through the small opening in the door.  
She had a funny feeling her friend Ritsuko was in that same situation.  
She also had a funny feeling that she and Ritsuko would most likely be executed. If all that Shinji had told was true, then they knew too much and would be considered a liability to that secret organization, Seele.  
Through the door, she managed to hear someone's voice, Shinji's voice.  
"Misato! Ritsuko! Where are you?"  
"Shinji? Is that you?" she called out, running up to the door, shouting through the small opening.  
"Yeah, it's me. Misato, I hear you! Where are you?" she heard the reply.  
"I don't know! Can you just follow my voice?" she shouted out, "I'm in some kind of holding cell. There's a giant steel door,"  
She stuck her arm out, hoping that that would do some good.  
She felt a great sense of relief when she felt Shinji's hand closing around hers, "Please, get me out of here,"  
"Don't worry, I'm here," his voice sounded like water to a girl dying of thirst, "Stay away from the door. I'm gonna break through it,"  
"H-how?" she said.  
Her question was answered when the door suddenly bent-in toward her when Shinji hit it with a well-placed front kick. After a few swift kicks, the door finally fell off its hinges, falling inward and narrowly missing hitting Misato.  
Misato brought her hands up to shield her eyes, the incoming light hurting her eyes. It would take a few minutes for her eyes to adjust to seeing light again.  
"How'd you do that?" she asked, Shinji's silhouette against the light.  
"I kicked it down. Oh man, y-you're naked!" Shinji's eyes widened, blushing.  
Misato tried covering herself up. However, since she had nothing to cover herself with, it was a rather futile gesture. The first thing she covered up was the scar on her chest.  
"It's okay," Shinji said, "There's nothing to be embarrassed about. Like I said, I know about the scar and the story behind it. Stay here, I'll be right back,"  
Misato stayed where she was. She watched as Shinji picked up one of the hinges and from the broken-down door and took it up in to his hands. As she watched him as he peeked out the side of the door and down the corridor, she noticed that he was half naked, wearing nothing but a pair of pants that seemed to loose for him, his waist to small for the pants.  
She watched as Shinji suddenly jumped out in to the corridor and threw the hinge, running off in that direction a second later.  
"What the heck did he just do?" Misato asked herself.  
A moment later, Shinji entered the holding area again, carrying with him an unconscious man. He dropped the man by his feet and proceeded to undress the man.  
"Here're some clothes," Shinji said, throwing Misato the guard's pants and shirt.  
"What's going on here?" Misato asked, proceeding to get dressed in the clothes that she knew were too big for her.  
"I'm sorry," Shinji said.  
"Sorry? For what?"  
"For getting you in to this," he said, peeking back out the door, "It was my fault for telling you about myself. If you didn't know all this stuff about me and Nerv, none of this would be happening to you and Ritsuko,"  
Misato was silent. Shinji was right. She was pretty sure if Shinji had never told them what he knew, they would not be in such a situation.  
"C'mon, we hafta find Ritsuko and get the heck outta here," Shinji said.  
"No, we need to find Ritsuko and get you in to Unit-01," Misato said.  
"Why? It's not like I can get anywhere since it still needs a power supply," Shinji scratched his head.  
"What are you talking about? Don't you hear the alarm? That's the alarm for an Angel attack!"  
"What?" Shinji's eyes widened, "How's that possible?"  
"What do you mean?" she asked.  
"The next Angel isn't supposed to attack for around two weeks. This doesn't make sense,"  
Misato found herself staring at Shinji's muscular back as she followed closely behind. In her hands was a pistol, taken from the unconscious guard Shinji had brought in to her holding cell. She felt more comfortable having a gun in her hands than not.  
"Please, don't carry that gun," Shinji had asked her, "It makes me nervous,"  
"If you're right and they're out to get us, then we need protection," Misato said.  
"I know, but a gun can kill people," Shinji said.  
"That's the point," Misato said.  
Shinji gestured toward a set of keys and a door hinge in his hands, "I've got these. There's just as effective at knocking a person out but without risking killing them,"  
"How so?" she asked.  
"I can throw these things at them," Shinji said, "I've got good aim,"  
Misato smirked. This kid was crazy to believe something like that would work.  
"Do you know where we are? Do you know where we can find Ritsuko?" he asked.  
Misato looked around, "We're in 'Block Z', the holding area of Nerv. If Ritsuko's in a holding cell, she should be somewhere around here,"  
"Ritsuko! Where are you?" Shinji called out, figuring that would be the best course of action.  
"The guards are going to hear you," Misato said.  
"I know, but what can we do about it?" Shinji said.  
"Shinji?" they heard Ritsuko's voice from down the corridor.  
Shinji called out, "Ritsuko. We hear you,"  
Misato followed Shinji as he ran down the corridor. They stopped in front of a large steel door similar to the one that was in front of Misato's holding cell.  
"Ritsuko, you in there?" Shinji asked the door.  
"Yes," came the reply.  
"All right, stay away from the door," Shinji said, "I'm gonna knock it down. I don't want it to fall on you,"  
Misato assumed a cautious stance as she readied herself to return fire if any hapless guard wandered down their corridor and saw them and fired in their direction.  
From out of the corner of her eyes, she curiously watched Shinji, wondering what he was going to do to knock down the door.  
Her eyes widened when she saw Shinji executed front kick at the center of the steel door, the door bending inward from the intense impact.  
"Holy shit!" Misato gasped when she noticed the damage. Shinji had just kicked the door and nearly broke it. The door was solid steel and probably weighed several hundred pounds!  
Shinji kicked it a few more times, each kick having a devastating effect on the door. As he kicked at the door, he suddenly stopped and veered around, throwing the set of keys he had in his hands down the corridor.  
Misato looked over and caught sight of a burly unsuspecting guard being hit by the set of keys in the chest and falling to the floor unconscious. She found herself angry with herself for paying too much attention to Shinji to notice the guard before he did.  
Shinji returned to what he was doing, kicking the door one last time.  
The door fell inward where it hit the ground with a loud clank. He walked up to the entrance and looked in. Seeing Ritsuko naked, he gave a quick apology and ran off down the corridor, Misato just staying where she was, wondering what she should be doing.  
Her eyes widened as she watched Shinji pick up the rather burly man and carrying him over his shoulders with ease as he came back to the entrance of Ritsuko's holding cell.  
Dropping the guard by the entrance, he proceeded to undress the guard.  
"How the hell did you do that?" Misato asked Shinji.  
He just knocked down a door that weighed several hundred pounds, and made of steel for that matter, by kicking it several times. He also picked up a three hundred or so pound guy and carried him over here like it was nothing.  
Shinji continued to undress the guard, "Training. I've been trained to be capable of doing stuff like this. Whether or not I was trained specifically to deal with this kind of situation, I have no idea,"  
Shinji, finished undressing the guard, threw the clothes in to the holding cell where Ritsuko readily accepted it and proceeded to get dressed.  
Although a bit flushed, he made sure not to look as Ritsuko got dressed.  
When Ritsuko finished getting dressed, he spoke.  
"All right, let's get going,"

Shinji, Misato, and Ritsuko emerged on foot from a tunnel and on to the surface area.  
It had taken a good ten minutes of running before they reached the surface from Nerv. They would've gotten up there quicker had Ritsuko not needed to stop to catch her breath, a result of her smoking.  
"I really need to quit smoking," she said, gasping for air.  
"I wonder how Rei's doing against the Angel," Misato commented, looking around. She felt bad that she could not be commanding Rei from the control center, but due to the situation at hand, that would not be possible.  
"Oh my god! What the heck's going on here!" Shinji gasped, pointing.  
Misato and Ritsuko looked at where Shinji was pointing and caught sight of Unit-02 in fierce battle with the Angel, an Angel that looked much like a pink squid with two whip-like arms.  
"Say, isn't that Unit-02?" Misato asked, recognizing the EVA from the documents she had read.  
"Yes," Ritsuko seemed a bit confused, "That's rather strange. Nerv wasn't supposed to receive a second pilot for a few weeks from now,"  
"That's Unit-02! That's Asuka's EVA!" Shinji said, "What the heck is she doing here now? She wasn't supposed to show up for several weeks!"  
Shinji began pacing back and forth, "Why's everything getting so messed up? This world's timeline is changing from the way it's supposed to go. I don't understand why this is happening,"  
"Why, what's supposed to happen?" Misato asked curiously.  
"None of this, that's for sure," Shinji said, "This Angel isn't supposed to attack for around two weeks from now. And when it does attack, I'm supposed to be fighting it. Asuka isn't supposed to show up for several weeks from now,"  
Misato said, "It could be because of what you're doing that's causing this to happen,"  
Ritsuko said, "That's probably most definite. From the way things look, I think Asuka was brought in early to compensate for what's happened between you and us. Afterall, you were a pilot. Since you were taken out of the equation, someone needs to replace you,"  
"I think you're right," Shinji said, smiling, "Man, you're so good with your deductions,"  
Ritsuko smiled, "Thanks,"  
"Looks like bringing Asuka was a good idea on Nerv's behalf," Misato commented, "Asuka's doing real well against the Angel,"  
Shinji looked up toward the outskirts of Tokyo-3 where he saw Unit-02 mounted on the Angel and stabbing it in the core with a knife and holding the blade there as the Angel tried to fight back. Before long, the Angel stopped struggling, unable to continue fighting, unable to come to the aid of the young man that accidentally summoned it.  
Shinji sighed as he started to comprehend how, for him, everything had suddenly gone to hell in a basket.  
Nerv would soon be looking for him and Misato and Ritsuko once it was discovered that they escaped. The last place they could go was back to their respective homes. Asuka had defeated the next Angel, removing Shinji's chance at having Unit-01 eat the core. And last but not least, Nerv would most definitely not sit idle while he tried to get in to Unit-01 for when the next Angel attacked to make it eat its core.  
Shinji sighed, shaking his head in disbelief.  
"I'm so screwed,"

new stuff 11/26

Shinji paced back and forth in a hotel room. He and Misato and Ritsuko were in a hotel in the outskirts of Tokyo-3. Being in heart of Tokyo-3 after that escape they had pulled off would be idiotic. They would be caught for sure. "Man, when it rains, it pours," Shinji said, "Things are looking really bad right now,"  
"Well, we need to figure things out," Misato said, "All three of us are out of a job. Of course, that's trivial considering how much trouble we're in,"  
"I'm sorry, I really shouldn'tve told you," Shinji said to both girls, "If I knew that this would've happened I wouldn'tve done so,"  
"It's okay," Ritsuko said for the both of them, realizing the severity of what Shinji knew, "We really do believe you and what you said. If we were being used as pawns, then we want nothing to do with it,"  
"That's right," Misato said, "I didn't realize that Nerv was some kinda shadow company and such. Frankly, we've yet to really hear everything. I'd like to know more about Seele and this Human Instrumentality Project,"  
Ritsuko's lips became a thin line. She felt embarrassed to be taking part in what Shinji would soon explain. However, Misato deserved to know the truth since she was now in as deep as she was.  
Shinji went on to explain what he knew about Seele, a guy named Lorenz that was in control of it, and the Human Instrumentality Project. It took a good deal of time for him to explain everything, Misato asking many questions and Ritsuko too embarrassed to help out with explaining.  
"How can you take part in something like this?" Misato turned toward Ritsuko.  
Shinji considered telling Misato but said nothing because he didn't want to embarrass Ritsuko. Ritsuko had hated her mother and wanted to succeed where her mother had failed. Heck, that was why she had dyed her hair blond, because she didn't even want to acknowledge that she had the same hair color as her mother. It made Shinji believe that perhaps they were more alike than they realized.  
"It doesn't matter," Shinji said, "What's done is done,"  
"I guess you have a point, but still..." Misato said with a shrug.  
Shinji went on to explain everything else he knew and, in the end, told them about how they would be eventually killed, had Ranma not been there to save them.  
"And when's this Ranma guy show up? He sounds really cool," Misato smiled, already liking the guy, "What's he look like?"  
Shinji fell to the floor from the shock.  
"That's kinda not important right now," Shinji said, giving her a disappointed look, "Keep in mind that this world's timeline is already drastically altered and that Ranma's some different person from the one I know, so no, he won't be coming by,"  
"Oh," Misato seemed disappointed.  
Shinji couldn't help but snicker. Only Ranma could get females interested him and not even be there or even exist on that world. Only Ranma.  
"Because of all that's happened, I think it'd be best if you guys head off somewhere and just disappear for a while," Shinji said, "That way, you'd be safe,"  
Misato smirked, "Who do you think you're talking to, little boy? We're in this as deep as you. We'll help,"  
"How?" Shinji asked.  
"Well, considering how you need to get in to Unit-01 in order to steal it," Misato said, "You're going to need some people in the control center helping you get in to Unit-01. You can't expect to climb right on in to Unit-01 by yourself without people helping out getting the dummy plug in to Unit-01,"  
Shinji said, "Oh yeah. You've got a point,"  
"The problem at hand though is us being able to help you out in the first place," Misato added, "Much like how Nerv would sit around while you climb in to Unit-01, they also won't sit around while we use the control center helping you get in to Unit-01 and it activated,"  
Shinji sighed, "Yeah, you've got a real good point,"  
He began pacing back and forth once again. "Got any ideas?" Ritsuko asked Misato.  
Misato shook her head, "No. I was about to ask you,"  
"No idea here," Ritsuko said sadly.  
"I know," Shinji said, "We'll take over Nerv,"  
"What?" both girls said, "How?"  
Shinji gave a meek smile.  
"I haven't quite figured that out yet,"  
Shinji entered the classroom.  
He was a bit tired. He had a hotel room to himself but had been unable to sleep that night and had basically spent the whole night doing katas within his hotel room.  
"I'm an idiot being here," he told himself, "I'm gonna get busted so badly by Nerv it's not funny,"  
It was the next day. Shinji had come up with a plan of taking over Nerv, a plan that was astronomically insane.  
Shinji had planned to kidnap either Rei or Asuka, or both for that matter, and use them as hostages to get back in to Nerv without resistance. Since Nerv didn't know that they would never harm Rei or Asuka, they would threaten to kill them to keep everyone at bay while Shinji went about achieving his objective to getting Unit-01 to take in the core of an Angel. They had no idea when the next Angel would attack but they would worry about that after the kidnapping. "Hey," Toji greeted Shinji.  
"H-hey," Shinji gave a smile.  
"Where have you been the past couple of days?" Kensuke asked.  
Shinji pretended to cough once, "Just a bit under the weather,"  
"I wouldn't be surprised," Kensuke commented, "What with the weather and all. It goes from pouring to sunny to pouring to sunny all the time. The constant change in weather is enough to make anyone sick. It's kinda strange how the weather could change so dramatically and so quickly these past few days,"  
"Yeah," Toji said, "I wouldn't mind walking up to God and saying 'Choose a freaking weather and stick with it',"  
Shinji gave a meek chuckle to laugh along with Kensuke and Toji. The funny thing is that it was because of Shinji that the weather was hell. He had been knocked out before so the weather had reverted back to dark and pouring. When he woke back up, he made the weather clear again.  
Shinji gazed toward the back of the room toward Rei's seat but he didn't see Rei there. It made him realize that his sense of time was all messed up. Rei had recovered fairly well and was attending classes by the time the second Angel attacked. However, he had forgotten that the second Angel attacked within days from the first.  
That was a mystery he still had to figure out.  
Shinji went about just gazing out the window when class started. When the teacher got annoyed at him for not paying attention and tried to embarrassing him by asking him a question that he figured he wouldn't know how to answer, Shinji proved him wrong. The teacher tried it two more times after before he decided it was best to leave him alone.  
"Why dontcha just leave me alone? So what if I'm not paying attention? I'm not disrupting your class or anything," Shinji stated, "Go call on someone else,"  
He couldn't help but be a bit happy that college classes made him more like that. Classes were so different between high school and college. A person used to dealing with college professors would never be intimidated by mere high school teachers and it showed.  
It even showed when Shinji needed to go to the bathroom and went to the bathroom without raising his hand. When the teacher tried to give him hell for not raising his hand and asking, his retort embarrassed the teacher.  
"Why do I hafta ask? If I need to go to the bathroom, then I'll go to the bathroom," Shinji said coldly, "I'm not holding it in just because you say so. That's bull,"  
Shinji was promptly sent to the hallway for talking back to the teacher but he seemed to had gotten his point across for future reference, provided he came back to school the next day if need be.  
As the day progressed, Shinji started wondering if Asuka would be introduced to the school that day and if he would need to come back tomorrow. He didn't really want to come back because it was pretty nerve-racking being there in the first place. The longer he was in Tokyo-3, the more probable he is of getting seen or caught by Nerv.  
Right before lunch was about to start, the teacher stopped what he was teacher to make an announcement.  
"I would like the class to know that we will be having a new student attending our school today," the teacher said.  
Shinji turned his attention toward the classroom entrance where in entered a beautiful red-haired girl entered. It was Asuka. All the males except for Shinji gasped at how beautiful the new transfer student was.  
Shinji couldn't help but have this look of amusement on his face as he was seeing Asuka for the first time a second time around. The time of when she was introduced was a bit differently from usual but her self-introduction was the same, she writing her name on the chalkboard in bold letters and giving the class a beaming smile. Another difference this time around was that Asuka's face didn't show that of shock when she spotted Shinji since she had never seen him before nor knew who he was. What was strange was that this time around, Asuka cast him a warm smile as she walked by him and took an empty seat right by him.  
What the heck was that look for, Shinji thought. Does she recognize me? Does she have some kind of trick up her sleeve? No, we can't know each other.  
Distracted with his thoughts, Shinji accidentally dropped the pen he was flicking around in his hands. It rolled on the floor where it came to a stop right by Asuka's desk.  
He watched as Asuka picked it up and handed it to him.  
He thanked her and looked at the pen, expecting to see a familiar sight. He remembered back then, when he dropped his pen, Asuka picked it up and handed it to him and he believed he had misjudged her, that she was really a nice person...that is, until he found out that she had stuck her gum on his pen. When he looked at his pen, he was surprised by what he saw.  
What the hell? No gum.

Asuka was starting to get seriously annoyed when she was approached by the thirtieth male student in the school. And it was only lunch time! She should've brought a lunch to school. That way, she wouldn't need to walk the halls to the cafeteria to get some food and be approached by half the male population within the school.  
"Go away," Asuka shooed the elder male student away. It was annoying the even high school seniors approached her.  
"You've only been here a day and you're already the most popular girl in the school," Hikari said, a bit envious. She was Asuka's first new friend, the two of them instantly becoming friends.  
"Hmph," Asuka said in contempt, "It's not like I want to be. They're all so annoying,"  
Hikari said, "I'll take your word for it since I wouldn't know,"  
"Say, who's that student that sits by the window near the back of class?" Asuka asked, changing the subject, "He's always looking out the window,"  
Hikari gave a mischievious smile, "What, you have some kinda crush on him?"  
Asuka blushed, "No!"  
"Then why would you be interested in knowing who he is?" Hikari asked.  
Asuka scratched her head, "I don't know. He looks a bit familiar. What's his name?"  
"How can you know him? You're from Germany," Hikari commented, "His name is Shinji Ikari. No one knows much about it. Rumor has it that he's the pilot of this giant purple robot but no one's ever asked him,"  
Shinji Ikari, huh, Asuka thought. He has the same name as Commander Ikari. I wonder if there's any relationship. He's probably his son since that's probably why he looks a bit familiar. Asuka only had a vague recollection of what Gendo looked like because she talked to him briefly after transferring to Nerv the other day. They spoke for a short while before Gendo had excused himself to tend to other issues. Little did she know that at that time, Gendo had gone off to talk to Shinji whom had been in a holding cell at the time.  
"He's an EVA pilot?" Asuka's eyes widened. She didn't know anything about that. Hikari nodded, "Yes, that's what the rumor is but no one knows for sure,"  
Asuka smirked. Asking him would be a good icebreaker. There had been something about Shinji that caught her eye. Perhaps it was the way he carried himself. Perhaps it was because he was the only guy in the entire school that had yet to approach her and try and talk to her. Perhaps it was because he seemed a lot more mature than all the other kids in the school, even the seniors. Asuka brushed off several more advances from school boys before she and Hikari got their lunch and headed back to class.  
Back at class, they caught sight of Shinji as he sat with Toji and Kensuke.  
"They're friends?" Asuka asked, noting how Shinji seemed to stand out among the 'Two Stooges'. That was the secret nickname she had given them when she first talked to them. They had been the first to crash and burn when they tried to approach her, she easily brushing them off.  
Hikari nodded, "They became friends since the first day Shinji transferred here," "Shinji transferred here?" Asuka asked, curious, "When?"  
"Right after the first Angel attack," came the answer, "That's why there's rumors circulating about him being a pilot of that robot,"  
Asuka smirked, "If that's the case, then wouldn't people think I'm an EVA pilot?"  
"EVA pilot?" Hikari asked, "What's an EVA?"  
"Um, I meant a pilot for that red robot," Asuka said, realizing that something like the word 'EVA' is still unknown to general public, "If you think about it, I showed up right after that attack,"  
Hikari laughed, "You, a pilot? Get real,"  
Asuka face-faulted, "What, you don't think I could be a pilot? I'll have you know that-"  
Hikari continued to laugh, "That's funny. You, a pilot,"  
"Why do you believe this Shinji guy could be a pilot and not me?" Asuka found herself getting angry.  
"I don't know," Hikari commented, "Probably because he's kinda mysterious in a cool sorta way. He's also quiet and seems rather collected. I've played a bunch of video games with giant robots and the pilots of those mechs were usually acted cool and such,"  
"You play video games?" Asuka said, "Me too,"  
"I've got all the game systems," she commented, "You're welcome to come by whenever you want and we can play games together,"  
"Cool," Asuka said, "Anyway, back to the subject, you really think he's some kind of pilot...because he seems mysterious and such and fit the stereotype of a mech pilot based on the games you play?"  
Hikari nodded.  
"Pilot of a giant purple robot that fought off an Angel before that one last Angel attack?" Asuka asked.  
Hikari nodded, "Yes. This city was attacked by an Angel before you transferred here. It was beaten by this giant purple robot,"  
"Oh, okay," Asuka seemed to become quiet.  
Asuka scratched her head. A giant purple robot? A giant purple EVA? But there were no giant purple EVA in Nerv when she was given a tour of it.  
She thought the giant orange EVA had defeated the Angel before the one she defeated. Since Rei piloted that EVA, Asuka had assumed that was why Rei was in the hospital at the time when they were introduced to one another.  
There was no purple EVA at Nerv.

Shinji emerged from the school, glancing about nervously, looking about to make sure there weren't anyone on the lookout for him. And from the looks of things, it seemed like no one was. Shinji caught sight of Asuka and Hikari walking along, heading down the street ahead of him. He assumed Asuka would be heading toward Nerv while Hikari home.  
He contemplated kidnapping Asuka and taking her along with him but he had a change in heart. There was no way he could do something like that. It sounded like it could work well on paper, but when it came to actually implementing it, he was too much a coward to do so. Besides, scaring the hell out of Asuka, what with her truly believing she was being kidnapped, was something he didn't want to do. He walked past Hikari and Asuka as they stopped by the entrance to say some parting words, not taking care to make eye contact with Asuka, a bit ashamed with himself. Asuka was just a normal girl and didn't deserve to undergo the trauma of what he had originally planned.  
"I'm going to need to come up with a different plan," he told himself. "Hey," came a voice.  
Shinji turned around to face the voice. He found himself looking toward none other than Asuka. This was the first time he was seeing her up close and it made him realize just how much a size difference there was. He was significantly taller than her. Heck, considering his size, Asuka looked tiny when compared to him.  
"Um, hey," he said. Asuka regarded Shinji for a moment, a bit surprised at just how big he was. He was a lot bigger than she had expected now that she was seeing him up close. They stood in silence for several moments before Shinji finally realized that he should say something first.  
"Yes?" he asked.  
'How come you don't hit on me like all the other boys?' was something she had wanted to say. However, she didn't say those words. "Your name's Shinji Ikari, right?" she asked.  
Shinji paused for a moment before he nodded, "Yeah,"  
"Are you related to Gendo Ikari?" she asked.  
He quickly shook his head, "No. Never heard of him. No relations,"  
"Oh," she said, "It's just that there's this guy I know named Gendo Ikari and I figured he might be your father or something,"  
Shinji suddenly came up with an idea. Since no one knew anything about him, he could lie if he want to. It wasn't as if he wanted to have fun, but rather, make it easier to talk to Asuka since she was always a hard person to talk to, even the one he knew. "I doubt I would have a father by that name," Shinji said, hoping to pique the young girl's curiosity.  
"Oh?"  
"Because, both of my parents committed suicide when I was young," he said, "They hung themselves,"  
"I'm sorry to hear that," she said truthfully. Oh my god, this guy's got a past just like me, Asuka thought. He's been through what I've been through. He knows how it feels to have lost a mother. We're very much alike.  
Man, I'm going to hell for so blatantly lying like that to Asuka, Shinji thought. However, I think it's better that way. If she knows that I'm somehow related to Gendo, then she might start asking questions to people about me in Nerv and it might reveal to them about my whereabouts. At least this way, I can get on her good side and not have her be constantly out for my blood like the other Asuka seems to be.  
There was a moment of awkward silence. Shinji found the silence extremely awkward. He had no idea where he stood with this Asuka. At least with the other Asuka, he knew that she disliked him or at least looked down on him. "So, how do you like the school?" he asked, wanting to change the subject, figuring he might as well make some conversation. It felt weird because it felt like he was talking her for the very first time. What kind of questions does one ask a person for the first time a second time around?  
Asuka shrugged, "Boring,"  
"Um, I'm new there, too," Shinji commented, "I transferred there, um, about a week ago. I live alone, what with my parents being dead and all, cause they committed suicide, and, um, I didn't realize that this place was going to be attacked until after I had already moved,"  
Shinji wondered if he was laying it on thick. Most likely he was.  
"So, where are you from?" Shinji asked, smiling slightly, "You seem part German,"  
Asuka was surprised, "Why yes, I am. How'd you know?"  
"Um, I heard you make a few comments about how some of the boys in our class are dumbkopfs. I know a bit of German," Shinji commented. He never bothered to mention the little German he knew he had learned from the Asuka he knew.  
"You know German?" Asuka's eyes widened in surprise and delight.  
"Just a small amount," he said truthfully.  
Asuka said a sentence in German and then asked, "Do you know what I said?"  
"Something about how you'll be impressed if I understood what you just said," Shinji replied, "Am I close?" He only managed to make out around five of the German words and guessed on what she had said.  
Asuka blushed, "T-that's right!"  
Shinji gave a meek smile, scratching the back of his head, "Cool,"  
He couldn't help but feel a bit happy. It seemed like the two of them were hitting it off, a far contrast from when he first met the Asuka he knew. It would've been really nice if they got along that well initially as he was with this Asuka. It would've made their staying together at Misato's place less a awkward.  
"'I'm happy'," Asuka said in German, "'You know how to speak German. That's my preferred language',"  
Shinji gave a meek smile but answered in Japanese, "Um, I glad you're happy. But I really dunno German. Even if it is your preferred language, I can't understand everything,"  
"Very well, I'll speak in Japanese," Asuka giggled, the first time she had laughed in a long long time. She made note of that, that Shinji was the first boy to make her laugh since she got to Japan.  
"Um, you speak Japanese really well," Shinji commented, "It sounds as if Japanese was your first language,"  
"Thanks," Asuka smiled at the compliment.  
"Do you like it here in Japan?" he asked, "It's different from Germany, that's for sure. For instance, Japanese houses are small and there are no locks on the bedroom doors,"  
Asuka's eyes widened, "That's so right. I can't believe you mentioned that. That was the first thing I noticed when I moved here,"  
Shinji contemplated asking Asuka where she was living. He was sure she wasn't living at Misato's place since Misato was now because sought after by Nerv and her apartment was most likely under close surveillance for her return. He chose against it. It was none of his business and asking would seem nosy since it was their first encounter afterall.  
Shinji found it rather odd how easy it was to talk to Asuka. How come it was coming so easy to him? He used to have a lot of trouble talking to Asuka. Could him constantly talking to Emiko and a random female every day back then have made him a better conversationalist?  
"Hey, didja see that Angel attack yesterday?" he asked, wanting to change the subject.  
"Um, y-yes," she said. She was happy he mentioned that because she had been meaning to ask him about the rumor. "That was so cool what Unit...um, that red robot did to that Angel," he said, catching his mistake before it was too late. He was a normal person so he shouldn't know about the proper terms for the EVAs. He added, "Whoever the pilot of that red robot was, she...or he...must be an amazing pilot,"  
Asuka blushed. He thought that she was an amazing pilot. Of course she was an amazing pilot and it was nice to be acknowledged. Wait, he doesn't know that she's a pilot. No one knows because she had wanted to wait to figure out the deal with the rumor of Shinji being a pilot.  
"Man, I wish I could pilot one of those things," Shinji added, figuring Asuka would most likely inquire about the rumor about him, "I wonder what's it like to pilot those things," He figured that it was just a matter of time that someone would ask him if he was a pilot. Now was a good time to stomp out that rumor and mask who he really was.  
So he isn't a pilot, Asuka thought. Of course he isn't. The only pilots are Rei and I. Why would I ever suspect that he was some kinda secret pilot?  
"Do you know anything about, um, those robots?" Asuka asked, figuring Shinji would be a good 'first' for her to find out she was a pilot.  
Shinji shook his head.  
"They're called EVAs. I'm actually one of those pilots," Asuka said proudly.  
"You're a pilot?" Shinji feigned amazement, "Wow. What's it like to be in one of those things?"  
"It's amazing," Asuka said, "You sit in this tube-like cockpit called a dummy plug and are submerged in LCL, a form of oxygenated liquid. You have several main weapons to choose from but your main one is a close-combat reverberating knife,"  
Shinji smirked. Did Asuka realize that she was telling him rather classified information? Perhaps she was too caught up in showing off that she was a pilot to realize.  
"Heh, that's really cool," he smiled softly, "I guess I'm glad I talked to you. Now I can say I know the pilot of an EVA,"  
"Yeah, you can tell everyone you're friends with me," she smiled confidently.  
Friends? She already considers me a friend, Shinji thought. How's that possible? She's supposed to hate my guts.  
"Um, I guess so," Shinji gave a meek smile, feeling the need to get out of there, "Well, I gotta get going now. It was nice meeting you,"  
"Likewise," she smiled warmly, "I'll see you in class tomorrow,"  
"Um, okay," Shinji said, "Goodbye,"  
"Bye," Asuka happily trotted off.  
Shinji stood where he was, a very confused look on his face.  
"What the heck just happened? Why's she so nice to me?"

"Was Asuka transferred to your class like you predicted?" Misato asked Shinji first when he entered the hotel room that evening.  
Shinji looked around, "Where's Ritsuko?"  
"She's at an internet caf ," Misato answered.  
"What for?" Shinji was confused.  
"She went over there to use their computers," Misato said, "She wants to snoop around in Nerv's computers to see what information has been put out about us. We have no idea if we are viewed as traitors or spies or saboteurs. She wants to find out exactly where we stand from Nerv's viewpoint,"  
Shinji said, "Actually, she shouldn't do that. They might know she would try something like that and might put forth fake information for her to find to trick us,"  
Misato scratched her head, "Hm, I never thought about that,"  
"But then again, I don't think we have much to worry about," Shinji said, "Ritsuko knows Nerv's computers best so I'm sure she can tell if something is fake or not,"  
Misato was silent for a moment. Shinji seemed to be ahead of her by one step all of the time. It was rather embarrassing to be uprooted by a young man of Shinji's age.  
"Anyway, back to the first question, yes, Asuka was transferred in to class," Shinji said, "I couldn't bring myself to kidnap her. I can't bring myself to do something like that. It's just wrong and shouldn'tve even been considered,"  
"So what do you recommend?" she asked.  
Shinji gave a meek smile, "Um, actually, I was kinda hoping to ask you. I'm not all that good with coming up with my own plans,"  
Misato smirked, "You wanna ask me for suggestions? Is this because you're used to taking suggestions from me, or at least the alternate version of me?"  
Shinji gave another meek smile.  
Misato sighed, "Unfortunately, as much as I would like to offer some kind of suggestion, I'm drawing blanks. This is just too complicated a situation we're in. We don't even know where we stand. Your plan to kidnap Rei and Asuka is actually a good plan. Although crude, it'll definitely be effective, at least initially,"  
"B-but I don't want to do something like that," Shinji said, "I can't bring myself to kidnap them. Keep in mind that they're my friends in the other world. Um, if I didn't know them, p-perhaps I might be able to do something like that, but since I do..."  
Misato shrugged, "Well, that's no problem. Ritsuko and I can do it if it ever comes to having to kidnap them. Sure, we'd probably feel every bit as weird about doing it as you, but I'm sure we could do that if need be,"  
Shinji's lips became a thin line. As nice as that was to hear, he still didn't like it. Surely there had to be some other way.  
"We should wait until we know where we stand with Nerv," Misato said, "We should wait until Ritsuko gets back with some news,"  
Ritsuko entered the hotel room.  
"Speak of the devil," Misato smiled happily.  
"What devil?" Ritsuko looked around "Nevermind. Anyway, how goes the search?" Misato asked, "Did you find out anything about Nerv?"  
Ritsuko nodded, "Yes. And unfortunately, you're not going to like what you hear,"  
Shinji and Misato both gulped. "The information I found indicated that we are spies and are considered armed and dangerous and should be shot on sight. Security within Nerv has been tripled just for the occasion that we might ever try and come back. All of this had been issued by, guess who, Seele," Ritsuko said, "Asuka Soryu Langley became an official member of Nerv yesterday morning, to compensated for the 'loss' of Shinji as a pilot. A fourth child is currently under observation,"  
"Man," Shinji said, "Everything's moving so fast,"  
"What do you mean?" Misato asked.  
"The second Angel attack occurred just mere days after the first Angel attack," Shinji said, "That's weeks ahead of schedule. Asuka showed up even earlier than that. And now, a new pilot is being sought which is a few months ahead of schedule,"  
"Well, considering the turn of events, it's only natural to assume that things wouldn't go according to plan," Ritsuko said, "Whatever that's supposed to happen seems to be happening faster than expected,"  
"I understand with what Nerv is doing, but I don't understand why the Angels are attacking at a different time schedule," Shinji commented, very confused, "We had a direct effect on Nerv changing. However, we have nothing to do with why Angels attack at different times. For all we know, the next Angel could attack five minutes from now and there's no way I can tell,"  
Misato said, "Well, if the next Angel attacks, we should be okay. I don't want to count my chickens before they hatch, but Asuka's an exceptional pilot. She should be able to handle whatever Angel comes her way. Even though we aren't there helping out with the battle, Commander Ikari and Fuyutsuki should be able to get along without our help,"  
Shinji shook his head, "I don't think so. The next Angel that attacks is basically a flying fortress. It requires two EVAs to defeat. In my world, it took the teamwork of Rei and I to defeat it,"  
"What kind of Angel is it?" Ritsuko asked curiously.  
"It looked like some kinda floating diamond," Shinji answered, using his hands to help convey what the shape looked like, "It has this incredibly powerful AT Field for defense and an incredibly powerful particle beam for offense,"  
"A particle beam?" Ritsuko's eyes widened.  
Shinji nodded, "Yes. We needed to use a positron rifle to destroy it,"  
"What?" Misato's gasped, "How is that possible? The positron rifle is experimental! It isn't even complete! It won't be complete for at least a month!"  
"It was complete on my world," Shinji corrected her, "The thing is is that the Angel attacked my world shortly after a prototype of the positron rifle was completed,"  
The sounds of an alarm could be heard echoing. It was the alarm signaling the eventual attack of an incoming Angel.  
"What the hell? An Angel's going to attack? It's only been one day!" Shinji gasped.  
Ritsuko and Misato looked at one another.  
"T-the Angel is attacking way ahead of schedule!" Shinji gasped, "If the positron rifle isn't complete on this world, then there's no way for this world to kill it! Oh my god! Rei wasn't in school today. That's because she was still at the hospital recovering from what happened to her before I showed up. She can't help out,"  
"T-that means that Asuka neither has the teammate or the weapon to kill this Angel," Misato commented.  
"This is bad," Shinji said, "This is really really bad. I don't care how good a pilot she is but there's no way Asuka alone can defeat that Angel,"  
He snapped his fingers.  
"I know, she can use the Lance of Longinus!" he said.  
He started pulling his hair out.  
"Oh man! How the heck will they know to use that?"

new stuff 12/5

Shinji's current situation went from bad to worse as he and the girls heard a loud bang coming from the front of the hotel as the door was blown inward by use of breeching charges placed around the door.  
"What the?" Misato said, she and Ritsuko looking toward the front.  
Shinji looked toward the front entrance where he caught sight of a few figures dressed in dark clothes entering the hotel via the shattered front door. He immediately recognized the attire the figures were wearing. It only took a split second for Shinji to react and realize that their hotel room was being stormed by highly-trained soldiers in much the same fashion as Misato's apartment back then.  
"Oh no!" Shinji shouted, his body reacting before his mind could.  
He couldn't believe he had been followed. He was very sure that he hadn't been followed. The only person that could probably conceal themselves from him while following him would probably be someone of Ranma's skill. How was that possible? Ritsuko! They followed Ritsuko!  
Shinji reached in to his pocket and pulled out his remaining pocket change from when he bought lunch. Without taking care to aim, he threw his pocket with all his might in the general direction of the incoming soldiers. The loose change struck the two front-most soldiers. Despite being heavily protected with body armor, the two of them fell to the ground like they had been shot several times.  
It seems Shinji's makeshift projectiles had more piercing and destructive power than several burst of bullets.  
Without thinking, he picked up the nearby lamp and threw it at the next incoming solider, hard. The lamp struck the solider right in the face, the cloth ski mask he was wearing providing no form of protection. The soldier's head cocked back at and awkward angle as he fell backwards unconscious and crashed in to the last incoming solider, the two of them falling to the floor.  
Shinji, realizing that it would only be moments before the last solider got back up to his feet and trained his firearm on his target of opportunity, ran toward the man as he proceeded to get up and punched at the man.  
The man, highly trained the use of infiltration and firearms and hand-to-hand combat as well, intercepted Shinji's incoming punch and grabbed the young man's wrist.  
Shinji's eyes widened as he suddenly found himself flipping through the air, his attempted attack reversed on him.  
On anyone else, they would've ended up slamming on the floor hard and would've easily knocked had the wind out of them and would be left momentarily disoriented.  
Shinji, on the other hand, wasn't a regular person. He had become so used to having his attacks reversed by Ranma and thrown around like a rag doll that he felt perfectly comfortable being thrown through the air as if he had his feet firmly on the floor.  
He instinctively tucked his body in in mid-air and landed on his feet, grabbing both hands on one of the forearms of his opponent. Momentarily forgetting that he was not fighting Ranma, Shinji twisted the man's arm hard and threw him in to the door to the bathroom upside down, sending him crashing through it where he landed in the bathtub unconscious.  
Shinji looked around, taking in his current situation. He noticed that two of the soldiers were out cold and the other two were incapacitated, too hurt to do anything. However, he didn't take any risks and kicked away any firearms nearby those two soldiers currently writhing in pain.  
With the situation now under control, he allowed himself the opportunity to think again.  
He breathed a sigh of relief. His heart was racing and he barely even knew what had happened. He had no real idea what had just happened or how he had managed to incapacitate four highly-trained soldiers in no more than ten seconds. His life had been on the line and he could've easily been shot or killed. It had been a life and death situation and his body seemed to have reacted to such a situation even before his mind could. It was an exhilarating and terrifying sensation he cared not to experience ever again.  
Knowing that he wasn't quite out of the clear yet, he cautiously glanced out the front door and down the hallway. He immediately pulled his head back in when he noticed two police officers a short distance down the hall, taking cover by the door that lead to the stairway.  
Luckily for him, he spotted them before they saw him. It would only be a matter of time before those police officers begin to wonder what was taking the infiltration team so long to give them the 'clear' signal. He needed to get himself and the girls out of that hotel and fast.  
He turned his attention toward Misato and Ritsuko.  
Both of them were still in a state of confusion as to what was happening.  
Man, I never realized how effective the element of surprise works, Shinji thought. It seems like infiltration teams really know how to use the element of surprise because Misato and Ritsuko are still confused as to what's going on.  
"You okay?" Shinji asked, waving his hands toward them to get their attention.  
"Um, y-yeah," Misato said first, looking at the unconscious bodies, "W-what happened?"  
"No time to explain," Shinji said, heading up to the window, "We need to get out of here. There are more just down the hall. It'll be a matter of time before they come check up on their friends,"  
Shinji looked out the window and noticed that there courtyard had two police cars blocking off the entrance to the hotel parking lot and a truck sitting in the middle of that parking lot. It was most likely how the infiltration team was transported here.  
"W-what are we going to do?" Ritsuko asked, instinctively touching at the scar by her head where she had been struck by the butt of a weapon. She didn't want to be hit again.  
Shinji didn't bother to respond, deep in thought. He needed to figure out a plan and fast.  
The hotel room was located on the forth floor. He could jump down from that height and not hurt himself but Misato and Ritsuko could not. He had never held on to someone while trying to land safely so he had no real idea if he could land correctly while carrying the two of them.  
It also didn't help that there were several police officers gathered about in the parking lot. They would easily spot him if they tried to escape out of the window, the only window for their hotel room. If they tried to escape down the hallway, the people waiting there would radio for help.  
"I don't know what to do," Shinji said, turning toward Misato and Ritsuko, hoping they could be of help, "Do any of you two have any idea of how to get out of here?"  
Misato and Ritsuko looked more at a loss than him.  
Shinji gritted his teeth. He needed Ranma there to tell him what to do. Ranma could easily think of something to get them out of such a sticky situation. Heck, if Ranma was there, he would probably just use ki-blasts to blow up police cars and the truck to cause a distraction, jump out of the window with Misato and Ritsuko in his hands and escape while everyone was in a state of disarray.  
Unfortunately, Shinji didn't know how to use ki-blasts. There was no way he could fight his way out of this situation. He needed to go about it differently. He had no AT Field that could brush off bullets so he could easily get hurt. He had found that out the hard way when he had gotten shot in Misato's apartment.  
Shinji's eyes widened as he noticed that there was a two-story building nearby. Rather than jump down to the parking lot down below, he could jump on to the rooftop of that building. The problem was that it was a good distance away and he had no idea if he could jump that far while carrying Misato and Ritsuko. I hafta try, Shinji thought. That's the only option I've got. By the time they notice what I've done, we will be a good distance away from here. But first things, first, I need to protect Ritsuko and Misato.  
Shinji went over to the two unconscious soldiers and removed their body armor.  
"Here, put these on. I dunno how useful they are, but they will probably help out in case we get shot at," Shinji said, walking over and handing the two of them their armor.  
"What do you plan on doing?" Misato asked as she and Ritsuko did as they were told. "I really dunno," Shinji said, "I'm gonna try and carry the two of you and jump over to the rooftop of that building nearby. You're putting on the body armor just in case something bad happens and they open fire on us,"  
Ritsuko gulped. "What about you?" Misato asked, "Aren't you going to put any on?" Shinji shook his head, "No. It's best that I not. Man, I-I can't believe I'm refusing bulletproof armor in a situation like this. I don't wanna wear it because it'll restrict my movement,"  
He had noticed how heavy the body armor was when he retrieved it for Misato and Ritsuko and it had reminded him of that weighed vest he used to wear. Sure, it wasn't anywhere near as heavy, but he knew it would hinder his movements, as if carrying Misato and Ritsuko wouldn't already hinder his movements enough.  
He glanced over where he saw Misato picking up a handgun from where Shinji had kicked it.  
"W-what are you doing?" Shinji asked.  
"What do you think?" Misato replied, finally managing to realize her situation and wanting to do something about it, "It's obvious that we're in trouble and we need to arm ourselves,"  
She picked up the other gun and extended it toward Ritsuko whom reluctantly took it. As to whether she would actually fire it, Misato had no clue. She picked up another gun and extended it toward Shinji.  
Shinji held up his hands, "N-no. I-I don't want it,"  
"What? We need to arm ourselves," Misato said.  
"I've never used a gun before," Shinji said, "I don't wanna start now," "Well, you're gonna hafta," Misato commented.  
Shinji took the gun. He looked at it.  
Misato was just about to show him how to grip the gun when she saw Shinji snap the gun in half with his bare hands. Her eyes became wide when she saw him do so. He had just broken a gun in half with his bare hands!  
Shinji broke the gun in to many little pieces, eventually breaking it so that only the magazine remained. He pocketed the magazine.  
"What didja do that for?" Misato asked, very confused.  
"I can throw the bullets," Shinji said matter-of-factly, "I've never shot a gun before, but I know how to throw things really accurately. This is just as good,"  
"If you needed the bullets, you could've just clicked on the tiny latch that would've released the magazine," Misato commented.  
Shinji gave a meek smile, blushing slightly, "Oh,"  
"What are we going to do?" Ritsuko asked.  
Both girls gave out a yelp as they found themselves being picked up in Shinji's arms.  
"W-what are you doing?" Misato was the first to ask.  
Shinji didn't bother to answer as took several deep breaths, steeling himself for what he was about to do.  
"Here goes nothing," he said.  
Using his feet to break the window, Shinji, both girls in his arms, hopped on to the window sill and jumped with all his might toward nearby rooftop.  
Both girls screamed as they found themselves flying through the air. However, before they knew it, they found themselves tumbling on the rooftop of the building Shinji had jump toward. When they came to a tumbling halt, they were partially disoriented at what had happened but relatively okay, thanks to the body armor that was protecting them.  
Looking around, they realized Shinji was not on the rooftop with them. Little did they know that Shinji had been unable to jump the distance and bailed out at the last second, basically throwing them on to the rooftop while he ended hitting the side of the building and falling down to the ground below.  
Misato ran over toward the edge of the rooftop, by the side facing the hotel, and glance over the side. Looking down, she saw Shinji ducking behind a dumpster, taking cover from the several guns trained on him. The police officers that were in the parking lot that had saw what had happened were shouting toward him to surrender and come out with his hands up.  
Shinji looked up where he saw Misato glancing down at him.  
"What are you doing? Take cover!" Shinji waved her off.  
Misato was momentarily distracted as her attention was toward the distant horizon where she caught sight of the attacking Angel, a blue cube-like object that looked like it was tilted on one of its points.  
When a bullet whizzed by her head, she immediately realized she was being fired upon and ducked back to take cover. It seems like the police officers were also given the orders to shoot on sight.  
Shinji glanced where Misato had been looking and was able to see the Angel pretty well from his vantage point. It was currently hovering somewhere by the heart of Tokyo-3 and was unopposed. That meant Unit-02 was had not yet been deployed to fight the Angel.  
Shinji's lips became a thin line as he thought about what was going to happen. He was pinned down by several police officers, more of them already on their way after having been called in for backup. It would only be a short time before Unit-02 would emerge from one of the release bays where, if things occur in similar fashion to what had happened on his world, she would be hit in the chest with a particle beam and immediately taken out of the battle even before she had begun to fight.  
"Damn, Asuka's going to go through what I went through," Shinji said to himself, feeling defenseless, "I need to get to her to warn her but I can't because Misato and Ritsuko and I are pinned down,"  
At that moment, the Angel shot out a massive particle beam. The beam ripped through and melted entire buildings as it rocketed across Tokyo-3 where it struck the area where all those police officers had been situated. The explosion had been so massive that everything within a hundred meter radius of the impact zone was consumed in the blast.  
Shinji's eyes widened as he saw the massive column of fire expand at an exponential rate and eventually consume him and Misato and Ritsuko. Instinctively, he brought his arms in front of him, knowing that it would do no good. He had no idea what was going to happen, but he knew it was definitely something very painful and most likely fatal.  
Several blocks were incinerated in an instant in a massive mushroom-like cloud of smoke and fire. When the explosion subsided, all that was left behind was a giant crater a hundred meters in radius.  
Standing in the middle of the crater were Shinji and Misato and Ritsuko. They were confused and unscathed. Shinji was the first to compose himself.  
"W-what the heck just happened?"

new stuff 12/6

Shinji looked around toward the edge of the crater. From where he and the others were, so deep down in the crater, they could see nothing but sky, all of the surrounding buildings that would otherwise block out the sky destroyed.  
"What just happened?" Misato asked, looking down at herself. She was still here. Ritsuko was still here. Shinji was still here. It didn't make sense. She definitely saw that huge wall of fire coming straight towards them. Heck, something should have happened to them considering the fact that the building she and Ritsuko had been standing on melted right under their feet.  
Shinji scratched his head, "I'm not too sure what happened. I don't know how to conjure or an AT Field and I didn't see one protecting us at the last minute. I don't know why that happened nor why we're all right in the first place,"  
"This is very confusing," Ritsuko commented.  
Shinji couldn't help but feel a great sense of weight press down on his shoulders when he heard that coming from Ritsuko. He was hoping Ritsuko could make sense of what was going on. There was no way he would be able to figure something like this out on his own.  
Misato looked down at her body armor, "Hm, you think it was the body armor?"  
"I highly doubt it," Shinji scratched his head, "I wasn't wearing one and I'm fine. Also, how could those vest block out something as powerful as that blast? It melted all the surrounding buildings,"  
"C'mon, let's get out of this crater and see how much damage it's caused," Misato proceeded to climb up the side of the crater.  
Shinji and Ritsuko followed, Shinji helping Ritsuko out after she slipped halfway out of the crater and almost tumbled back down. When they made it out of the crater, they looked around and noticed that they had a clear view of the Angel still hovering a good distance away. The few buildings that blocked a clear view of Angel were no longer there, having melted from the searing heat from being within such close proximity when the particle beam traveled right by them.  
The three of them began heading down the street in the general direction of the Angel. They had no real idea what to do and that seemed like the right thing to do. "T-this is just...insane," Shinji commented, "What the heck and why the heck did this happen? None of this is happening according to what I expected to,"  
"What do you mean?" Misato asked curiously.  
"Angels are attacking out of synch," Shinji commented, "And when they do show up, they're not doing what I expect them to do. They seem to attack Tokyo-3 in the exact same fashion as how I remember them attacking my own Tokyo-3, but it looks as if they suddenly have a change in plans and do something completely different,"  
"What were you expecting the Angel to do?" Misato asked.  
"Well, this Angel is a few weeks early, much like the Angel before it," Shinji stated, "And not only that, it's attack pattern is completely different from what I was expecting. It only attacks object of opportunity within a certain range. Considering the fact that we are by the outskirts of Tokyo-3 and it's basically in the center of the city, we are way out of its range. It's attacking an area much father than expected. This also doesn't include the fact that it seemed to have purposely attacked right where we were and seemed to have left us, yet no one else, unscathed,"  
"Most peculiar," Ritsuko scratched at her chin, deep in thought.  
"This is probably all happening differently from what you're expecting because of all that's occurred," Misato commented, "Keep in mind that, considering what you told us about your world, this world has undergone a much more different chain of events,"  
Shinji shrugged, "Well, all we can do is deal with it as it comes along. There's nothing much we can do but that,"  
"What's the plan now?" Misato asked.  
Shinji gave Misato a rather odd look. It was weird that she was asking him for suggestions. "I dunno," Shinji said, "I was hoping you might have a plan. I'm not used to this,"  
"What, you think we should know this any better?" Misato smirked, "Considering how you are younger than us and we are supposed to be the ones in charge, with something like this, I doubt any adult would be able to know what's going on,"  
Ranma would know what's going on, Shinji thought with a sigh. Too bad he isn't here. I needed his help so many times. I feel like I'm stumbling my way through everything.  
"How about we do this?" Shinji suggested, "You two, find a safe place to hide. I'm gotta try and find a way to get Nerv to use the Lance of Longinus to defeat this Angel,"  
"You want us to hide?" Misato asked, a bit surprised.  
Shinji nodded, "I guess. Keep in mind that it was a good chance that Ritsuko got followed on her way back from that cyber caf place she had been coming from. That's most likely how they found out where we were,"  
"A-are you sure?" Ritsuko was surprised. She felt very bad if that was true, that she could have been the cause of their hotel room being stormed.  
Shinji sighed, "I have no idea. There are so many unanswered questions. For all I know, they could've followed me from when I was at school. The thing is is that I made extra sure that no one was following me,"  
Shinji proceeded to pat himself down.  
"What are you doing?" Ritsuko asked.  
"I dunno, maybe I was tagged with some kinda tracker or homing device," he commented. After a moment, he found nothing.  
Misato and Ritsuko proceeded to pat themselves down. They both found nothing.  
Shinji scratched his head, "Well, we're not tagged with tracker or anything so the only logical explanation would be that Ritsuko was followed,"  
"If I was followed, then I'm sorry this happened," Ritsuko said sincerely, "I wouldn'tve left the hotel if I knew I was going to be found and followed,"  
Shinji waved a dismissive hand, "No, don't worry about it. It can't be helped. We are much better off now than had you not found out the info about Nerv. Knowing that they upped their security saves me the risk and trouble of going there and finding that out the hard way,"  
"Once again, back to the first questions, what do you plan on doing?" Misato asked.  
"Our first priority is defeating that Angel," Shinji said, "Since the positron rifle won't be functional for around a month from now, that means it can't be used to defeat this Angel like it was used on my world. Therefore, something else needs to be used. The only thing I can think of is using the Lance of Longinus,"  
"Lance of Longinus?" Misato asked.  
"It's the lance that was used to inflict the fatal blow on Jesus when he was crucified," Ritsuko said, "It's located in Central Dogma which is located under Nerv Headquarters. It is impaled through Lilith, the second Angel, to prevent her from coming back to life,"  
Misato gave Ritsuko a weird look, "What? What are you talking about?"  
Ritsuko sighed, "Well, since I no longer have to worry about what would happen to me for revealing top secret information, I'll tell you. It's a long story,"  
"Do you know how I can contact Nerv and pass on this information to them?" Shinji interrupted, "You two can talk about that later. It'll be very soon before Asuka is deployed to fight that Angel. I'm sure it'll be Asuka since, at this point in time, Rei is still in the hospital recovering from her injuries from when Unit-00 went berserk,"  
"Man, you know so much," Misato commented, "It's uncanny how you know such closely guarded secrets about Nerv,"  
"That's because I've been through all of this on an alternate version of this world," Shinji said, "But that's not the point. Anyway, do you know of a way I can contact Nerv? There's no way I can get in there to tell them, what with the tight security, so I hafta go about it with a different approach,"  
"Well, you can always call them," Misato said, "There's a main line you can call in on that only high-level personnel like Ritsuko and myself can use. It's actually the commander's private line,"  
Both females noticed the slight agitation grow Shinji's face upon hearing that.  
"Yeah, I remember," Shinji snorted, "I remember calling him about something related to school and he just brushed me off,"  
"Um, unfortunately, I don't know the number by heart," Misato commented.  
"Neither do I," Ritsuko said.  
Shinji sighed, "Well, that's no help,"  
Misato said, "I have the number jotted down at my apartment. It's actually written on the blackboard in my bedroom. If we go back there-"  
"I'm way ahead of ya," Shinji said, running down the street, "I'll go get it and call him up. I'll take the risk of having to deal with whatever security people that are watching over your apartment over Nerv' Headquarters any day,"  
"What about us? Where should we meet?" Ritsuko asked.  
"Um, how about we meet by the lookout?" Shinji said, "Y'know, the place that gives a great view of Tokyo-3 for when the buildings come back up from underground,"  
Misato's eyes widened, "Y-you know that place? I thought that was my little secret place,"  
Shinji smirked, "I know, the other version of you showed me. I remembered,"  
"Um, okay," Misato said, "We'll meet you there,"  
"Good luck," Ritsuko said.  
"Yeah, good luck," Misato said.  
"Thanks," Shinji ran off.  
"Um, if it's not too much trouble-" Misato called off toward his back.  
"I know," Shinji said, continuing down the street, "If he's still there, I'll bring PenPen with me,"

Shinji sneered as he glanced down from a nearby rooftop and at Misato's apartment. There were two armed guards holding automatic weapons standing in front of the apartment entrance and two cars sitting in the apartment's front courtyard several stories down below. He had just escorted Misato and Ritsuko to the lookout and was happy that they weren't followed. His happiness easily disappeared when he noticed all those Nerv personnel lingering about.  
"Damn, man, how much personnel does Nerv have to allocate...two, four, six, eight, nine goddamn guards to watch over one apartment?" Shinji muttered. He fingered at the magazine clip in his pocket.  
He had fifteen bullets, more than enough for him to incapacitate all the guards through use of well-aimed throws. The problem was that if he went down the approach of throwing those bullets, he would most likely seriously hurt those people, perhaps even risk killing them. They were only there doing their jobs and nothing more. It wasn't their fault. He didn't want to voluntarily hurt people. He had reacted on instinct and seriously hurt those two soldiers with his pocket change back then. Although it had been an involuntary action, his body doing so before his mind could prevent it, he felt very bad about it now that he had a chance to think about it. With this situation, he could not bring himself to actively hurt them, knowing that throwing those bullets were equivalent to firing bullets from a high-  
caliber gun.  
"Jeez, if pocket change does as much damage to a person wearing body armor, bullets would probably be far worse," Shinji said, trying to think of a plan.  
He glanced a short distance away where he saw some dog dropping right by a fire hydrant.  
Shinji chuckled, "Yeah, like I'm ever gonna use dog shit as projectiles. That's something only Ranma would probably do and use effective. I'll pass,"  
He looked around more. There was nothing he could use. All he had were those bullets in his pocket.  
"Hm, I can take out the two guys standing in front of Misato's entrance," Shinji said, "Since the others are sitting in the cars down in the front courtyard, it'll take the people around one minute to get up to the apartment. That doesn't really give me much time, perhaps not enough to find what I'm looking for,"  
Shinji sighed. That was the best plan he could come up with. It meant he would have to seriously hurt two individuals, but that was definitely much preferred over him having to seriously hurt all nine individuals.  
"Hey, rather than hurt those two guys, I can just damage their weapons," Shinji said to himself, "That way, I can just jump right across and knock them out with my bare-hands,"  
Shinji smiled slightly, glad that he had figured out a way to take out two guards without seriously hurting them.  
He took several deep breaths, psyching himself up for what he was about to do. He needed that. There was no way he could just up and carry out a plan without taking a minute to mentally prepare himself.  
After a minute, Shinji released two bullets from the magazine and threw one each at the individuals standing in front of Misato's apartment entrance. Each bullet struck where Shinji had been aiming, the automatic weapons they held in their hands.  
"What the?" one guard said as he looked down and saw his automatic weapon seemingly break in half.  
The other guard said much the same thing, a bit curious as to why his and his partner's weapon suddenly broke apart. They happened to both glance up and catch sight of Shinji seemingly defying gravity and come sailing through the air and right toward them.  
Before they could react, well-place open-palm strikes struck them in the chest, sending them flying backwards where their backs slammed against the wall to either side of the door. The two of them then fell forward on to their stomachs, unconscious.  
Shinji gave a meek smile, "Sorry about that. No hard feelings,"  
He tried to open Misato's door and realized it was locked. A well-placed kick knocked it down as he then entered the apartment, heading straight toward the bedroom.  
"Heh, why'd they even bother replacing the door they blew up the first time around?" Shinji commented with a smirk.  
As he raced through Misato's apartment, noticing that everything looked very much the same. It was messy but not because of soldiers rummaging through every thing. Running in to Misato's bedroom, he quickly looked around for the blackboard. He couldn't help but pause for a moment and noticed Misato's bra and panties precariously strewn about. Misato seemed to like wearing very sexy bras and panties.  
Banishing the sudden hentai thoughts that invaded his mind, he focused on his objective. Looking around in the room, he found the blackboard located right above Misato's desk. After quick scan through the miscellaneous information written on the blackboard, Shinji found the number he was looking for, the number to Gendo's private line. Memorizing it, he came to realize that he did remember dialing in that number way back then when he tried calling his father.  
The phone number now secured in his memory, Shinji quickly left the bedroom. His heart was beating very rapidly and it would be very soon before all the other guards would have made their way to Misato's apartment and would be storming in.  
Once in the dining area, Shinji quickly ran over to the giant fridge where he knew PenPen lived in. He clicked on a button and looked in and was pleasantly surprised to see PenPen, a bit surprised to see him, but otherwise perfectly fine. It seems PenPen had managed to someone hide itself from the guard that did a quick sweep of the apartment before considering it 'cleared' after Shinji, Misato, and Ritsuko had been dragged unconscious from there.  
"PenPen," Shinji said, reach out toward the startled penguin, "I came here to pick rescue you and bring you to Misato,"  
PenPen squeaked in delight as it quickly ran forward and jumped in to Shinji's arms. When Shinji grabbed a hold of him and picked up, he couldn't help but feel a bit weirded out. He had never really held a penguin before, not even when he was on the other world, and holding a penguin was definitely what one would consider an unusual experience.  
Ignoring the odd feeling of holding such a weird creature, Shinji ran out of the apartment building, expecting to make a running leap through the air and to land on the apartment where he jumped from before. When he glanced down the walkway, he caught sight of several armed guards running toward his location, all of them having seen what had happened.  
Shinji smirked. He would be long gone by the time they reached him.  
He leapt through air, landing on the nearby rooftop, running off and away from them.

"Please, don't wander off," Shinji told PenPen, placing it down on its feet. He needed to make a phone call before he went on his way.  
Shinji glanced at PenPen wondered if he should let the penguin roam around. He hoped PenPen wouldn't wander off too far and make itself hard-to-find.  
Shinji proceeded to dial the number that he memorized. He couldn't help but feel a sense of nervousness and dread at having to talk to his father. However, this was for a good reason so he would allow it.  
He smirked, wondering if the phone was going to request that he insert some money. What was very funny was that he had no money since he had thrown all of his pocket change to incapacitate those two soldiers earlier. He wasn't worried. He could easily break in to the machine and steal a few coins to pay for the call.  
Actually, he wouldn't mind giving it a try. He had never broken in to a phone booth before and it would be kind of cool to do so since this would be a good reason to do so.  
"I'm sorry, but due to the current state of emergency, all phone lines are not in service," came a recorded female voice on the phone.  
"Oh, you've gotta be kidding me," Shinji said, looking at the phone receiver.  
Believing that it was most likely a coincident, he hung the phone up and dialed in the number again.  
"I'm sorry, but due to the current state of emergency, all phone lines are not in service," cane the same recorded voice.  
"This is not happening!" Shinji shouted, slamming the phone received down on the phone machine itself with such force that the top portion of the received broke off. Although it did feel good to vent some of his frustrations on that machine, it did nothing to help alleviate the current situation.  
"C'mon, of why do the phones hafta be outta service now? This is so frustrating!"  
Shinji, realizing that he need to regroup with Ritsuko and Misato to come up with another plan, looked around for PenPen.  
Shinji sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. Ranma used to do that often and it seemed to have rubbed off on Shinji quiet nicely.  
PenPen had wandered off and was nowhere to be seen.  
"This sucks," he sighed.  
Several bullets whizzed by him, hitting nearby the nearby windows of an evacuated building.  
Shinji instinctively took cover behind a nearby mailbox, not too sure if it provided good enough cover from bullets, looking around to see where those bullets were coming from.  
Glancing down the street, he caught sight of two cars racing down the street. It seems that the two carload of guards had followed after Shinji, Shinji too preoccupied with finding a phone to realized that he had been followed all this time until now.  
"Damnit, could this get any worse?" he sighed, "When it rains, it pours,"  
The clear sky suddenly became pitch black as clouds instantly appeared and blocked out the late afternoon sun. To make matters worse, it started to downpour, Shinji instantly soaking wet.  
He sighed. He didn't meant to think of it raining in a literal sense. This just made it all the worse for him. He was cold and wet, had armed guards shooting at him, and no way of contacting Nerv about the use of the Lance of Longinus. Also, PenPen had wandered off and it would only be a short time before Asuka would attempt to fight the Angel and be terribly hurt from one of its particle beams. Shinji had a funny idea that even though the Angels haven't been doing what he had been expecting them to do, he couldn't leave it to chance that this Angel would not attack Asuka much like the same version of that Angel on his world had attacked him.  
He also needed to worry about Misato and Ritsuko. They had been accidentally caught up in all of this and, like him, might not make it out of this city alive if they continued to get shot at and chased.  
Shinji wanted to rip his hair out out of shear frustration.  
"Why is all of this happening to me?"

Shinji ran down the street, PenPen in his hands.  
He couldn't believe his luck. He found PenPen right around the corner from him when he made a break for it away from the mailbox, picking him up as he ran. The dark clouds blocking out the sun had made it hard for the guards to get a good visual on Shinji. The rain had made it impossible for them to chase after him by car, the streets to wet for adequate traction, their cars crashing in to one another when Shinji suddenly deviated from his straight path and made a sudden turn.  
It was still raining, Shinji having chosen to let it rain for the time being. He may be wet, but it was just a trivial annoyance for him if it meant the guards being unable to chase him.  
PenPen seemed to be perfectly fine. Actually, it seemed to be rather comfortable in the rain, it preferring rain than the skin-drying sunlight.  
"At least it got those guys off my back," Shinji said to himself with relief, "Now I hafta go to the lookout and talk to Misato and Ritsuko. We need to come up with a plan. No, better yet, I need to tell them to just run away. All of this stuff have gotten way out of hand and they would only get caught or killed if they stay around. I need their help, but their safety comes first. I'll learn to made do without them,"  
Shinji ran up the inclined road that led to the lookout point.  
"Don't worry, PenPen," Shinji said to the penguin in his arms, "We're almost there. You'll see Misato soon enough,"  
PenPen squeaked in happiness.  
Shinji came to a sliding halt when he caught sight of a car in the middle of the street, sliding farther than usual due to his shoes hydroplaning on the thin film of water on the ground.  
He recognized the car. It looked very much like one of the cars chasing him. They were most likely the cars Nerv operatives drove.  
He caught sight of three armed guard firing in the general direction of a tree. Looking over to where they were firing, through the pouring rain, he caught sight of Misato taking cover. When she peeked out and fired toward one of the guard, hitting him in the shoulder and sending him sprawling to the floor, he knew it was Misato. She always had good aim with guns.  
Shinji's eyes widened as he suddenly realized the situation. They had somehow found Misato and Ritsuko and were shooting at them.  
He quickly glance around and took in his surroundings. There were no one else nearby and those two guards seemed to be the only ones there and firing toward Misato and Ritsuko.  
Noticing that the guards' backs were toward them, Shinji seized that opportunity to run up behind the remaining two of them.  
He didn't even bother to tap them on their shoulders to make them turn around so he could hit them in the chest. Instead, he grabbed the arm of one of them and threw him violently toward the other guard whom had now noticed his presence. Both guards crashed in to one another with vicious force, knocked unconscious from the impact, tumbling to a sliding halt a good distance away from the car.  
Shinji quickly looked around, wanting to make sure that not hidden guard took a pop-shot at him while he wasn't looking. Satisfied that there were none, he began to rest easy.  
A bullet whizzed right by his head, Shinji dropped down and taking cover behind the car. "Where the heck did that come from?" Shinji gasped, his heart racing so fast it was ready to burst. Bullets were not to be taken lightly.  
He cautiously and reluctantly looked back over the car and noticed no guards in the general direction where the bullet came from. All he saw was the tree where Misato and Ritsuko were hiding behind.  
"Jeez, Misato shot that!" Shinji gasped, grateful that she missed.  
The rain was making it hard for her to distinguish him so she had mistaken him for one of those guards firing at her. Besides, it was understandable since she had no idea he had just showed up and incapacitated the two remaining ones.  
"Misato! It's me! I took care of the guards!" Shinji shouted loudly, hoping Misato would recognize his voice over the rain.  
Misato peeked her head out and narrowed her eyes toward Shinji's direction. When she recognized him, she emerged from behind the tree.  
She had this relieved look on her face as she came running up to him. Shinji assumed it was because she was able to see PenPen again.  
"Thank goodness you're here," Misato said gratefully.  
"Are you okay?" Shinji asked, concern in his voice.  
Misato rubbed at her side, "Yeah. Kinda. I was shot twice though,"  
"What? Y-you were shot! How can you say you were okay if you got shot twice?" Shinji's eyes were wide.  
Misato smiled, rapping a knuckle against the armor plating of her body armor, "It sting, but the body armor you gave me protected me. I checked and the bullet never broke it. I have two bruises from the point of impact but that's all. I'll live,"  
"Thank goodness," Shinji sighed in relief, "I'm glad you're okay,"  
"Thanks to you," Misato smiled.  
PenPen squeaked.  
"Here's PenPen," Shinji handed the penguin to Misato whom, happy to see it, took it in to her arms in an embrace.  
"Thanks," Misato said happily, "However, now's not the time. I've got some bad news..."  
Shinji didn't hear those words because he was glancing past Misato's shoulders toward the tree.  
Where was Ritsuko? Why was she still taking cover? The coast was clear so she could come out now.  
"Where's Ritsuko?" Shinji asked, "Is she all right?"  
"No," Misato said in a frantic voice.  
Shinji ran past Misato and toward the tree, dreading the sight he was going to see. Ritsuko had probably gotten shot and was now lying motionlessly and bleeding right by the tree.  
"Where is she?" Shinji asked when he didn't see Ritsuko, but to his relief.  
"They took her," Misato called out to him.  
"Took her? Who?"  
"Nerv," Misato said.  
"What?" Shinji gasped.  
"I don't know how, but they found us," Misato said, "It was as if they knew where we were,"  
"How? I know you guys weren't followed!" Shinji said, "How the heck could they have found you? Did you guys make some kinda phone call or such that made them track you to where you were?"  
Misato shook her head, "No. We just sat around. We were waiting around when a one car suddenly pulled up behind us and grabbed Ritsuko and took off. They tried to grab me as well but I managed to get away and take cover,"  
"How the heck did they know you guys were here?" Shinji was thoroughly confused, "This doesn't make sense. None of this stuff makes sense,"  
Misato shrugged, "I'm sorry, but I'm every bit as confused as you right now. Right now, we need to get to Nerv to get Ritsuko back,"  
Shinji's eyes widened, "Are you kidding me? They've got guns! We can't break in there to rescue her! I'm not some kinda superhero!"  
"You seem to be doing just fine on your own, maybe you can," Misato commented.  
Shinji emphatically shook his head, "No. I can't. I can get hurt much like you and Ritsuko. Heck, right now, I'm hurt,"  
"Y-you're hurt?" Misato asked.  
He nodded, "Yeah. Right here by my arm, it's just a small flesh wound where a bullet grazed me so I'll be fine. However, this goes to show you that I'm not impervious to bullets or anything,"  
Shinji looked around toward his arm where he saw the rip in the fabric where the bullet had grazed him. However, checking himself, he noticed no scratch.  
"Hm, that's strange, I know I got grazed over here," Shinji commented, "I even felt the pain when it hit me. Where'd that cut go?"  
"Maybe you have some kinda weird super fast regenerative properties," Misato commented. Considering the crazy things she had seen Shinji do, it wasn't so far-fetched.  
Shinji scratched his head, "I dunno. Perhaps. However, that's not something I can to rely on. It hurts getting shot and I don't wanna get shot,"  
"I guess you've got a point there," Misato nodded, "So, what should we do?"  
Shinji cleared his throat and said, "What we're gonna do is split up. I'm heading toward Nerv. Maybe I can get close enough and somehow and use some kinda loud speaker device to relay the information to them. Of course, that leaves me the problem of having to find one, but that shouldn't be too hard. I can probably find one in an electronics store,"  
"That's one crazy plan, but I guess it's better than nothing," Misato stated, "What about me? What should I do?"  
"You leave," Shinji said seriously.  
"What?"  
"Leave," he said, "Take PenPen with you and just run away. Never look back,"  
"But-" Shinji interrupted, "Please, just do as I say. It will be much better if you weren't around. That way, once I know you're safe, I don't hafta worry about you anymore,"  
"What, you think I'm in the way?" Misato was almost offended.  
Shinji gave a meek smile but said, "Yeah. If I'm alone, all I hafta worry about is myself. If you think about it, if I had told you guys to run away earlier, Ritsuko wouldn't have been captured and I won't need to worry about finding her now,"  
Misato was silent. That was very true. Shinji seemed like a very capable person and someone like her and Ritsuko would most likely slow him down.  
"But what about Unit-01?" Misato asked, "If you're going to try and steal it, you need people in the control room to activate it so you can steal it,"  
Shinji sighed. He forgot about that.  
"I-I never thought about that," he said.  
"Wait, you might be able to kill two birds with one stone," Misato said, "It only requires one person to activate it from the control room. Since Ritsuko was taken in to custody, you can rescue her and have her activate it for you. She knows how to activate it,"  
"Really? That's great! That sounds like a perfect plan," Shinji said happily.  
"Well, not so perfect since you still hafta worry about Nerv guards and all," Misato added, "As to how you're gonna get to Ritsuko, that's a whole different problem,"  
"It may, but it's still something to go by," Shinji said, "I can try and put that plan in to motion later,"  
"Later?"  
"Right now, the thing I've gotta worry about is that Angel," Shinji pointed toward the object in the far off distance, "I need to get Nerv to use the Lance to defeat it or Asuka's gonna get seriously hurt. I'll use that loud speaker plan to get them to use it. Hopefully, it'll work,"  
"Why not just forget that plan and try and steal Unit-01?" Misato suggested, "That way, you can rescue Ritsuko, steal Unit-01, and use the Angel to absorb its core,"  
"I wish I could but this is a different Angel," Shinji said, "There's no way I can get close to it since it has such a powerful particle beam. Trying to get Unit-01 close enough to eat the core is out of the question. I hafta wait until the next Angel. I most likely hafta break in to Nerv to get my information across so the immediate danger, the Angel, can be dealt with. In a sense, I hafta help out Nerv while Nerv is trying to kill me. After I help them out, I hafta break back in to steal Unit-01, where, by then, the would most likely double the triple-security they already have now. Somewhere along the lines, I hafta find and save Ritsuko," He laughed, somewhat delusional.  
"Man, I'm fucked,"  
Shinji sprinted down the street. He was already halfway to the tunnel entrance that would lead down to GeoFront. His heart was racing, not from pushing his body so hard, far from it, but rather at the dreadful thought of what would happen if Asuka was sent out to battle the Angel without full knowledge of what it was capable of.  
It was no longer raining, Shinji having made the bad weather go away. He wasn't being chased and the bad weather would most likely act against him in this situation. Besides, he didn't want to be wet if he could help it.  
He glanced over toward where the Angel was and watched as it easily blew up several attacking aircrafts. The UN was throwing everything they had at the Angel and losing. Judging at the time of when the Angel had first arrive, it would be no more than an hour or so before the UN would relinquish command to Nerv to fight off the Angel.  
Shinji continued running, looking around for an electronics store.  
He came to a sliding halt when he caught sight of an electronics store. He walked up to the window and looked through it. It was completely empty, the workers and occupants gone having gone in to hiding during the Angel attack. He kicked in the front window, the breaking and falling glass sounding louder than ever in the quiet streets. "Sorry about that," Shinji said meekly, entering the story via the broken window.  
"God, I can't believe I'm doing this," Shinji told himself, "I'm breaking an entering and robbing a store yet again,"  
The alarm went off, startling him. Knowing that it didn't really matter if the alarm was sounding or not, Shinji proceeded scanning through the store. This was the second electronics store he was breaking in to. The first one didn't have a megaphone. Along the way, he had planned on finding a megaphone and just shouting through it toward Nerv once he was close enough. Hopefully, someone would hear him and relay the message. Whether or not it would work, he had no idea.  
"Yes!" Shinji said happily when he found what he was looking for, the megaphone. Not wanting to find out too late that he didn't have batteries or such, he scanned through the back of the box.  
"Aw, c'mon, this is bullshit! This thing's got a built-in battery and takes six hours to charge!" Shinji said in an annoyed voice.  
He looked around for an outlet. Finding out, he plugged it in. If he charged it for ten to fifteen minutes, perhaps that would give him enough time to use it for a minute or so before the battery ran out.  
The fifteen minutes felt like an eternity. When he was satisfied that it had charged long enough, he gave it a quick voice check.  
"Test, test," he said in to the megaphone.  
When he realized that it was working correctly, he unplugged the megaphone and left the store, sprinting down the street.  
"It's a long shot, but it's all I've got to go by to help Nerv out,"  
He had no idea how he was going to get close enough to Nerv to get his point across to use the Lance of Longinus against the Angel.  
He would worry about it then. All he could do was handle one problem as it came to him. He would worry about that crossroad when he came to it.

Shinji ran down the street and came to a sliding halt when he caught sight of a giant building rising up from the ground a good distance away. He was only a couple miles away from the tunnel entrance. It would be at least a half hour before he would even be down in GeoFront. He didn't have time.  
"Oh no!" Shinji said, the color draining from his face.  
He watched in disbelief as the front of the building opened up to reveal, like he expected, Unit-02. Before Asuka could make Unit-01 take its first step out of the building, a particle beam shot from the Angel, incinerating a lone building standing in front of it and Unit-02, and hitting the EVA right in the chest.  
Even though he was a good deal away, Shinji was still forced to shield his eyes from the brilliance of the blast. When he was able to see, he noticed that Unit-02 was no longer there, having been immediately brought back down underground.  
"Damnit!" Shinji said again.  
Asuka had been taken out of the battle even before it had begun.

Shinji sprinted at full speed.  
He was currently running down a steeply declining tunnel that led to GeoFront. It was the same tunnel Misato had driven down the first time he had arrived on that world after having picked him up. It would lead to an escalator that would bring the cars down, but he would not use that. He would use the ramp just to the side where he could run down on foot.  
Things were going so badly that he knew now was not a time to use finesse. Being discreet about reaching Nerv had gone right out the window. He needed to get down to Nerv and fast to tell them, anyone, about using the Lance of Longinus. He needed to tell them since, knowing Gendo, he would be cold enough to send Asuka back out again in Unit-02 as soon as she woke up.  
Misato wasn't there so there was a good chance there was no one that could think of a plan to defeat that Angel. Misato he knew's plan to use the positron rifle was pure genius. Only someone like her would think of something so innovative. But since she was no longer a part of Nerv helping out, this was a different scenario.  
Shinji used his free hand to keep his pants secured around his waist as he ran along. This was because his pants were sagging due to the exuberant amounts of batteries he had in his pockets. He had grabbed them from the electronics store, just in case he needed to use them to fight off people with weapons. Throwing batteries would be just as effective as throwing bullet but not as deadly since they would not pierce the skin. It also made it easier for Shinji since he wouldn't have to worry about hitting weapons of the guards with the bullets and could focus on just hitting the guard themselves.  
He glance down toward the megaphone in his hands. He couldn't help but feel ridiculous. Here he was, running down a tunnel, one hand holding a megaphone, the other holding his pants from sagging.  
"Why can't I know ki-blasts? It would be so much more convenient," Shinji muttered. He paused and extended a hand toward the wall of the tunnel.  
"Mouko Takabisha!" he shouted, envisioning a ki-blast erupting from his extended hand.  
When nothing happened, he sighed, feeling even more ridiculous. However, at least he now knew that he couldn't shoot ki-blast. He had hoped that more of his dormant powers had surfaced and shooting ki-blasts would be one of them. Unfortunately, that didn't seem to be the case.  
"Why do I hafta only know how to control the weather and create a portal?" Shinji sighed, "Why couldn't I know how to do something useful like stopping time or something like that? That would be so much more useful for something like this,"  
Shinji contemplated conjuring a portal to travel not to different worlds, but to different areas of a single world. It would be very useful thing to use to instantly appear within Nerv, bypassing the need to confront the dozens of security guards most likely on patrol right this instant.  
A portal formed in front of him. He paused and looked at it. After a moment, he dismissed the thought and continued on running down the tunnel. If he tried going through the portal, there was no telling where he would end up. Sure, he could just open a portal back to this world, but he didn't know when he would show up on this world. He understood the 'where' aspect of traveling through the portal but he didn't understand the 'when' aspect. It wasn't worth the risk.  
Shinji stopped when he saw two guards by the exit side of the tunnel. Luckily, they weren't paying all that much attention and were talking to one another, their backs toward him at the moment.  
Not even caring to use diplomacy, Shinji reached in to his pocket and pulled out two batteries, throwing them at the guards. The batteries hit them in the back of their heads. The fell to the ground unconscious, never suspecting a thing Shinji ran past them. However, after several steps, he suddenly stopped as he realized something.  
"Jeez, why didn't I think of this before?" he said, "I can use the guards' radios to contact Nerv,"  
Shinji felt very angry at himself. Had he thought of that before, he wouldn'tve wasted those precious fifteen minutes charging the megaphone. He would've been able to perhaps stop Asuka from going in to battle totally blind and unaware of what the Angel was capable of.  
"Damn, all because I didn't realize this before, Asuka ends up getting hurt," Shinji scolded himself, "There's so much at stake and I can't let the pressure get to me. If I plan incorrectly, people will get hurt,"  
Shinji picked up the radio and looked at it for a moment. He had never used one of them before. After a few failed attempts, there being no response, he came to realize that he needed to press a button first before he were to speak.  
"Hello?" Shinji asked in to the radio, "Anyone there? I've got some important news to tell you Nerv people,"  
"Who is this? This is a private line. Identify yourself," came a voice.  
"Just shut up and listen. The Angel has an AT Field and the Lance of Longinus is the only weapon you have that can defeat that Angel,"

Shinji slowly made his way toward Nerv Headquarters. It was dark in GeoFront. This was because it was night out and GeoFront had an automatic system that made it feel like no one was underground, even if the sunlight or moonlight was artificially made.  
Shinji was glad that it was dark within GeoFront, it made sneaking around much easier. He came to realize that he was very skilled in the art of stealth. Of course, it was all attributed to his training. He had always wanted to try and sneak up on Ranma, hoping to catch him off-guard one day, and it seemed like the training he had done for something completely different was very useful now. He had come to the conclusion that if he wanted things done right, he needed to do it himself. He had no idea if his suggestion would be even considered by Nerv and chose to believe that it would not occur. Therefore, he needed some kind of contingency plan. He planned on making his way in to Nerv where he would go about finding Ritsuko and stealing Unit-01. That gave him five minutes, what with Unit-01 only being on battery support, to make Unit-01 retrieve Ritsuko safely from the control center since she needed to be there to activate Unit-01 for him, get down in to Central Dogma to retrieve the Lance, and finally, get topside and throw it at the Angel.  
Shinji chuckled, "Pulling this off successfully seems just as impossible as expecting to actually beat a walking God with fighting skills as good as Ranma,"  
He banished the thought from his mind. He needed to think positive, no matter how hard it was to do so.  
He sneaked across the wide open area that lead to the entrance Nerv Headquarters. There were several guards patrolling about, but none of them saw him.  
Entering Nerv, he stealthily snuck down the vast corridor leading straight ahead for a good fifty feet before it came up to an intersection. In his hands were several batteries. If he saw anyone, his only choice would be to throw those batteries and knock them out. There were no alcoves by the entrance where he could duck in to if a guard wandered by. They were located further within Nerv.  
Shinji continued to sneak further and further in to Nerv, eventually arriving at his destination, the door that lead to the stairwell. From there, he would head down several flights to the area where holding cells were since it was most likely that that would where he would find Ritsuko once again.  
He silently made his way down the stairs.  
Meanwhile, standing in a security room, Gendo watched the monitor. His right arm was in a sling and the right side of his face had a big bruise on it. This was because the fall down on to the floor of Shinji's holding cell, after Shinji had basically thrown him in there, had been a very rough landing. The fall hand dislocated his right shoulder and left him concussed. It would take quite a while before he recovered from the injury to his shoulder, no thanks to Shinji.  
"Would you like me to sound the alarm, sir?" a security watchman asked Gendo.  
"No," Gendo said, his voice cold, "He'll get what's coming to him,"  
A phone rang within the security room. The man answered it. After a minute, he held it toward Gendo.  
Gendo took the phone, "Yes? This better be important,"  
"Sir, Misato was apprehended," he heard a man's voice from the other side, "It seems like the tracking device worked. She was finally apprehended heading north along 'Route 315' just ten miles out of Tokyo-3,"  
Gendo smirked, "Good. Bring her in,"  
He couldn't help but smile. He knew Misato had been trying to run away. Unfortunately for her, no matter where she ran away to, she would be found. A tiny tracking device had been implanted within her head, right under the stitches above her right eye. Gendo turned around and faced Ritsuko. She had been standing silently in the room, brought in and to Gendo after she had been caught.  
"It seems like my 'son' is here to save you," Gendo said, his voice sounding acidic as he said the word 'son'.  
Ritsuko was silent.  
"He'll be in for a surprise when he doesn't find you there," Gendo added, "He'll also be in for a surprise when he finds out you betrayed him. I doubt he ever suspected that you contacted Nerv back then, when you were away from that hotel. What's funny is that even if you didn't betray him, you would've been found anyway since you also had a tracking device implanted within you. At least now, I knew where you stand, with Nerv, not my so-called 'son',"  
Ritsuko remained silent.  
Had she made the right choice in betraying Shinji?

new stuff 12/8

Shinji continued to sneak through Nerv, making his way toward the lower level where the holding cells were.  
He was a bit confused why he wasn't bumping in to guards. If security had been upped so much, then how come he had yet to bump in to a guard. It felt as if security hadn't been changed since the last time he had been there.  
Little did he know that the security had been reallocated to different sections of Nerv just so he could wander down toward the holding cell area unseen. It would make his capture easier since there would be no where he could go once he was there and approached.  
He ducked in to an alcove when he caught sight of a guard walking around.  
"Good, that's more like it," he told himself, "Something would seem fishy if I didn't bump in to any of them,"  
He continued down, totally unaware that he was being watched every step of the way on hidden security cameras. He had made sure he looked for security cameras, finding none along the way. Little did he know that all the cameras were hidden and that he still had a lot to learn.  
When he heard footsteps, he ducked in to a nearby alcove, waiting patiently for the guard or guards to wander by, ready to incapacitate them if they saw him.  
"You! Come out with your hands up!" he heard a loud voice, "We know you're hiding!"  
Shinji gulped. "I repeat! Come out with your hands up!" he heard the voice again.  
"Shit," he muttered to himself, wondering how the heck he was found out. He made sure he wasn't seen.  
He peeked his head out from the alcove where he saw nine armed guards a good distance down the corridor, all of them lining it from one wall to the other wall, in kneeling positions, automatic weapons trained toward him.  
"Damnit," he muttered to himself, "How the heck am I gonna be able to take out nine of them?"  
He checked his pockets. He had enough batteries. This made him feel a bit better. The problem was that he was very sure he wasn't skilled enough to through nine well-aimed batteries without a single shot being fired toward him.  
"If you do not come out with your hands up, we will not hesitate to use tear gas," he heard.  
Shinji sighed. He couldn't believe it. He had so much to learn. He was only in Nerv for no more than five minutes and he had already been caught.  
Hundreds of actions and consequences flashed through his mind. Should he just surrender or should he fight? He could probably take three of four of them out but he would inevitably get shot in the end. Not wanting to get shot, Shinji stepped out from the alcove, hands up in the air.  
"Drop him," he heard one of them, mostly the captain, say.  
He saw a flash come from the barrel of the center soldier. Suddenly, he felt a surge of pain envelope his leg as a bullet entered and exited through his right leg.  
Shinji immediately fell to the floor, unable to stand, the pain excruciating. Although the bullet hadn't struck a major artery, blood still squirted everywhere.  
They shot me, Shinji thought through the tears of pain falling down his cheeks. They goddamn shot me anyway! I did as they wanted to me to do but they shot me anyway!  
"Y-you mother f-fuckers!" Shinji shouted, clutching at his leg. He found himself feeling faint seeing so much blood, especially that much blood coming from his body.  
He was suddenly grabbed by five soldiers, one grabbing each appendage and the fifth one grabbing him by the back of his neck, pinning him to the ground on his stomach. "L-let go of me!" Shinji sneered, trying to squirm, the pain from his leg preventing him from fighting back with all his might.  
He couldn't believe how brutal Nerv operatives were. However, now that he knew how they were, he would not take them lightly. He would no longer be reserved about hurting them. Since they had no qualms about hurting him, he would do the same toward them.  
"You're not so tough," one of the soldiers made a comment.  
Before Shinji could see who said that, the butt of one of the soldier's automatic weapon rained down on the back of Shinji's skull, knocking him unconscious.

Shinji's head was throbbing as he seemed to balance on the thin line between consciousness and unconsciousness.  
He opened his eyes slowly. It took him a moment for him to notice that he was looking at the floor. It was moving past him as he was being carried along. He felt his arms being handcuffed behind him, and hand on each arm holding him up, his feet dragging along the floor. His head really hurt and he had no idea where he was being taken to. He also didn't know why he was even awake in the first place but made no movement to indicate that he was conscious. He knew he had been hit hard in the back of the head with the butt of one of the soldier's weapon. However, what shocked him was that he was actually conscious. The last time he had been struck, he was out for a day or two. This time, he was getting up once again, but only around five minutes had probably elapsed.  
Because of the way his leg was hanging, he was able to see his right leg as he was being dragged along. He noticed that there was no more blood flowing from the bullet wound. Did that mean he had already healed up? Was that possible?  
He made a very small attempt to move his right leg, steeling himself for the pain that he would feel when he tried. However, to his surprise, he felt no pain.  
My leg seems to have healed already, Shinji thought. I don't feel pain anymore so I guess it's okay now. I guess my powers are starting to take effect, that being some kinda weird healing factor. However, why does it hafta be something like that? I'd rather not get hurt instead of having some kinda fast healing ability. That way, I won't hafta feel pain in the first place.  
He continued to let his body remain limp since he was sure the two soldiers thought he was still unconscious. And judging by the pairs of feet walking by him as he was being dragged along, he figured there were three people escorting him, two carrying him and one walking ahead of him.  
Not knowing what was in store for him and not wanting to find out the hard way, Shinji opted to make a move. He needed to break free.  
Gritting his teeth, Shinji used brute strength to break out of the handcuffs. When the handcuffs snapped, the three soldiers escorting him looked shocked.  
Shinji, hands free, hit the guy to his right with a open-palm strike, sending him crashing in to the wall where he slumped to the floor unconscious.  
He didn't care if the man got hurt or not. Shinji was very angry for what they had done to him, shooting him like that and he was going to vent that anger on them, even if it was something Ranma had preached again, fighting in anger.  
As the guy to his left reached for his firearm, Shinji turned around and kicked the man right in the chest, but not before he managed to fire one round, unable to bring the gun up in time, the bullet hitting the floor.  
The man was hit with such force he became partially embedded in the left wall where he then fell forward and on to his stomach, unconscious.  
With two opponents down and one more to go, Shinji faced forward where his gaze rested on the man that had just turned around when he heard the firearm go off. Shinji sneered when he saw the man. He recognized the man as the person that shot him. Without a second thought, Shinji reached out and grabbed the man by the arm as he reached for his firearm. Hand firmly on the man's arm, Shinji jerked the arm toward him, bringing the man staggering toward him and off-  
balance where he used his free hand to punch the man right in the face. The momentum of the man staggering forward and Shinji's incoming fist hitting him in the face knocked him unconscious even before his feet kept moving forward and his head went back and downwards where he crashed to the floor.  
Shinji looked down both corridors where he saw no one.  
Looking about, he came to realize that he was in the medical center of Nerv. It seems like he was being escorted to the medical center where the wound to his leg was to be treated before he would be taken to a holding cell. It was too bad none of them realized that he seemed to have this uncanny ability to heal quickly, far quicker now than ever before. He went over to the unconscious soldiers where he took their individual firearms, breaking them in to tiny pieces, pocketing a few small bits and screws in case he needed to throw them for protection. After a short bit of searching, he found a set of keys where he used them to remove his broken handcuffs, taking care to pocket the keys, just in case.  
"What do I do now?" he asked himself.  
He looked at the three unconscious soldiers.  
"I need to hide them,"

Shinji broke down a door that led to a random room. He had kicked it down, his hands full since he was carrying with him three full-grown adult guys. They were all heavy and it made it feel like he was wearing close to two weight vests.  
Entering the room, he dropped the guys on the floor of the room, not even taking care to be gentle. Actually, he kind of threw them to the ground, secretly hoping they ended up getting more hurt. They got off easy since they were already unconscious. They shot him for God's sake. They should suffer and feel the same kind of pain he felt then.  
"Hmph," Shinji snorted in contempt.  
He took several deep breaths, pushing aside the obvious anger he harbored toward Nerv operatives at the moment. He needed to keep a level head and not let his emotions get the better of him. Ranma had trained him better than that.  
Shinji glanced around in the room, taking in his surroundings. It only took a moment for him to realize that he was in some kind of medical recovery room. Actually, it looked familiar.  
He had stayed in this particular room on his world. It had been the one where he had woken up in after he had had been hit in the chest by the particle beam from the Angel currently attacking this world's Tokyo-3.  
"Wait, if this is the room where..." Shinji thought aloud.  
He went over to the bed that was located in the corner.  
Walking up to it, he was surprised at who he saw.  
It was Rei, sleeping soundly, still recovering. "R-Rei?" he asked. This was the first time he had seen her since his arrival on this world. He couldn't help but feel a great sense of elation at having seen her, even though she probably had no idea who he was.  
Rei opened up her eyes and regarded Shinji.  
This startled Shinji since he had not expected her to suddenly wake up.  
She said nothing.  
"Um, h-hi, Rei," Shinji gave a meek smile.  
She continued to say nothing. This made Shinji feel very awkward. She was very much like the Rei he used to know back then, when he first got to know her on his world. The Rei he got to know was more open, albeit slightly. Of course, that was because of Ranma's impact on her life that made her a bit more open and approachable, him having made her realize there was more to her life than just piloting an EVA.  
"Who are you?" she asked, showing no signs of worry of her own safety at the thought of there being a complete stranger in her room.  
"Um, I'm Shinji," he replied, "Shinji Ikari,"  
"Are you related to the commander?" she asked, her curiosity piqued.  
Shinji shook his head, "No. No relation,"  
It wasn't that he was ashamed to be related to Gendo, but felt it would be better to lie. Actually perhaps he was ashamed to be related to Gendo.  
Rei closed her eyes again, him seemingly no longer of interest to her.  
Knowing that there was no real reason to be talking to her or to be in contact with her, he figured he might as well give her some parting words.  
"Rei, I know you don't know me, but there's a lot more to just piloting an EVA. I hope you take that in to consideration,"  
With that said, Shinji left the room.  
Rei opened her eyes again and spoke to herself in soft voice.  
"What else could I possibly do other than piloting an EVA?"

Shinji had an idea.  
Seeing finding Rei recovering in one of the medical rooms made him think about Asuka who was also most likely recovering somewhere. He should find her and see how she was doing. He didn't know what he was going to do after he found her, but he figured he'd stumble his way through the encounter after he found her. No need to worry about things ahead of time. The only thing he had planned was to tell her to use the Lance of Longinus against the Angel and hope that she would take his consideration to heart and actually try and convince Nerv to allow her to do so. He proceeded to check out random rooms, using the keys he picked up to open them up. He was lucky because it seemed like there was one master key to all the rooms and he had found out which one it was after a few failed attempts.  
Along the way, he had incapacitated four guards and hid the unconscious people in the room nearest to where ever they were knocked out. He had used plastic bottles of pills he swiped from Rei's medical room to knock them out, very happy that those plastic bottles were just as effective as throwing batteries. "Sorry," Shinji had said to one guard as he carried her and gently placed her down in a room before resuming his search for Asuka. Funnily enough, he had once again bumped in to and knocked out the female guard that he had accidentally groped not too long ago the last time he was there.  
Searching several more rooms, he eventually came across Asuka's room.  
He was very happy to see her, a familiar face in his chaotic world.  
Asuka clad in what looked like a medical gown that looked more like a pair of pajamas and was resting peacefully in her bed. Upon closer inspection, she looked like she was sleeping and not recovering from some close-death encounter with the Angel. There weren't even bandages wrapped around her chest or head. "Asuka," he called out in a soft voice.  
Asuka stirred slightly and opened her eyes. It took a moment for her eyes to focus on Shinji and for her to recognize him.  
"Shinji?" she rubbed the sleep from her eyes.  
Shinji smirked, "Yeah,"  
"What are you doing here?" she asked, remembering where she was. She was in the medical center of Nerv. So why the heck was Shinji doing in Nerv?  
Shinji ignored the question, "Are you okay? You look like you took quite a beating up against that Angel,"  
She nodded, still confused, "Yeah, I'm okay. All I suffered was a concussion,"  
Shinji scratched at his chin, "Oh yeah, I guess I shouldn't be surprised. Unit-02's got more armor than Unit-01,"  
Asuka looked at him, still very confused, "What are you doing here?"  
"It's a long story," Shinji gave a meek smile, "Let's just say that I wasn't completely honest with you when we first me,"  
Asuka continued to regard him intently, not really knowing what to say or do.  
"I'm not the person you think I am," he said, "You may think I'm crazy, but I'm actually from some different world. The point is is that I know quite a bit about this world and what's going on. I also know how to defeat the Angel you just tried fighting. You need to use the Lance of Longinus to do so,"  
"Lance of Longinus?"  
"It's a weapon that's stored deep underneath Nerv in Central Dogma," he answered, "I'm sure you know nothing about this because Nerv is keeping you and basically almost everyone else in the dark about what's really going on behind the scenes,"  
"W-why are you telling me this?" she asked.  
"Cause I'm here to help you," he said, "You are, just like how I was, being used by Nerv as some kinda pawn and I don't want that to happen. Actually, it's not Nerv but Seele, but since Nerv is a part of Seele..."  
"Seele?" she asked.  
"Like I said, it's a long story," he said, "At the current moment, what we've gotta worry about is that Angel. That's why I'm telling you about using the Lance of Longinus. I already contacted Nerv about using it, but I don't know if they'll listen to me. At least with someone like you knowing about that, it might carry more weight,"  
"W-what do you want me to do? I'm still confused," she said.  
"Just make a suggestion of it to my father," he said, "Knowledge of that weapon is highly classified. At least with more people knowing about that weapon existing, there's a higher chance that it would be used instead of its existence being denied,"  
"Suggest this to the commander?" she asked.  
Shinji nodded.  
Asuka became defensive, "I knew it! You lied about Gendo being you father!"  
Shinji's lips became a thin line. He had accidentally let it slip. He wasn't such a good liar afterall.  
"Why did you lie to me?" she asked.  
Shinji sighed, "I didn't want you to know. It would've made an already complicated situation even more complicated,"  
"What, you can't trust me?" she felt a bit offended.  
Shinji was silent for a moment, "No. It's not that I don't trust you. It's just that with less people knowing about who I really am, the better,"  
"And who are you really?" she asked again.  
"I told you, I'm from another world," he said matter-of-factly, "In a sense, I'm from this world's future and I know you and many people on this world and already know what's going to happen to this world. I'm here for other reasons, but along the way, I'm trying to help this world out, that being in helping you defeat the Angels. This is actually probably the main reason why I didn't tell you, because I didn't wanna hafta explain everything and just help you out behind the scenes,"  
Asuka was silent for a moment. She then asked, "How do you know me?"  
"You exist on my world," he said, "We know each other and since you are exactly like her, I already know what kinda person you are,"  
"This is all so...insane," Asuka commented.  
Shinji said, "Anyway, I'm glad you're okay. I just came to check up to make sure you're okay. In my world, I tried fighting that Angel and I nearly died. Now that you're okay, I can rest easy and go about taking care of several other things,"  
"Like what?" she asked.  
"Like I said, it's a long story,"

Shinji sneaked down the corridor, making not a single sound.  
As he was making his way out of the medical section area and toward the corridor that would lead to the stairs down to the holding cell area when he saw three individuals walking down the corridor in his general direction.  
He quickly ducked in to a room he had previously checked out and waited nervously for them to walk by. After the three individuals walked by, he peeked out of the room toward their backs and recognized two of them, one of them being Gendo and the other being Ritsuko, escorted with a lone Nerv guard he didn't recognize.  
Shinji had this shocked look on his face because he knew that that was Ritsuko walking alongside Gendo.  
"What the hell?" Shinji was extremely confused.  
Not really knowing what to make of what he saw, he waited until they disappeared around a corner and silently followed them.

"Is he okay?" Ritsuko asked Gendo.  
"Does it matter?" Gendo replied in a cold voice, "Whether or not he's hurt is trivial. Now that he is in our custody, we're to extract whatever information from him that we can,"  
Ritsuko said nothing. She couldn't believe Gendo could be such a cold man. This was his son she was referring to or at least as close to being his actual son without actually being his son.  
"Go check up on Asuka," Gendo told her, "Tell her she will be deployed to attack the Angel once again,"  
"With the Lance of Longinus?" she asked. She didn't care about the guard escorting them knowing since he was a guard with high-security clearance and was aware of many Nerv secrets.  
"No," he said, "We will have her self-destruct Unit-02. The heat shield will be arriving here within the hour. She will be briefed to use it as cover so she could maneuver Unit-02 within effective radius of its self-destruction.  
Ritsuko's lips became a thin line. She had assumed that that was the course of action Nerv would take. Human pilots really were expendable, what with the dummy project having been radically rushed and already nearing the conclusion of their experimental stage. It was amazing how technology could rapidly increase when humans were forced to do so, especially given this world's current situation.  
She had found that out about the dummy plug project nearing completion when she had been snooping around in Nerv computers before, a fact she had not told Shinji nor Misato. "I highly recommend against it," Ritsuko said.  
Gendo turned toward her, unconvinced but curious, "Oh?"  
"Shinji had made a comment about the next Angel being amphibious," she said, "We are located near the water. If you self-destruct Unit-02, the water would rush in to fill up the crater and make it easier for the Angel to get Nerv. If we self-destruct Unit-02, we will harming ourselves more than need be,"  
Gendo thought about it for a moment before he said, "That may be the case, but I've made my decision. We can not risk using the Lance and having it lost,"  
Ritsuko was silent for a moment before she said, "V-very well. I understand. I'll go tell Asuka to get ready to deploy,"  
Ritsuko turned down a corridor heading for Asuka's medical room while Gendo and the guard headed off toward the room where Shinji had supposedly been taken to after having been taken in to custody.  
Shinji, whom had been unseen following behind them but close enough to have heard what they said, paused as he contemplated who to follow.  
After a short while, he chose to follow Ritsuko. He needed to talk to her and find out what was going on with her. Why wasn't she in a holding cell? Why was she walking alongside Gendo like she was working for him once again. That is, not unless...  
"Say it isn't true. She betrayed me..."

Ritsuko entered Asuka's room. She walked up to Asuka's bed, wondering what she was going to say to Asuka.  
She and Asuka had never met and here she was supposed to command her to get ready to deploy. She was Asuka's superior so the young girl had to do what she was told. However, what pained Ritsuko so much was that Nerv would not hesitate to send a young girl to her death.  
Ritsuko smiled. She had guessed that and this obvious confirmation of just how much everyone were considered nothing but pawns to Nerv, Seele to be more exact. Shinji was right and she was glad she never doubted him for a second. However, she had gone back to Nerv to save Asuka. Since Asuka didn't know she was a pawn, it was Ritsuko's obligation to help her out even if it meant basically betraying Shinji's trust to get back in to Nerv. Although she regretted Shinji getting shot, she had noticed his weird healing ability and assumed it would be enough to get him out of his current situation.  
That way, when they met up within Nerv, she could help him get in to Unit-01. Afterall, with Nerv thinking she was once again working with them, they would not suspect a thing until it was too late when she helped Shinji in to Unit-01. Also, she would already be within Nerv and Shinji wouldn't need to worry about getting her in there to help him out in the first place. Ritsuko walked up to the young girl named Asuka. She was a bit surprised to see Asuka staring up at the ceiling, wide awake, seemingly in deep thought.  
"Asuka," Ritsuko called out.  
Asuka sat upright and turned her attention toward Ritsuko.  
"Who are you?" Asuka asked.  
"My name is Ritsuko Akagi," Ritsuko stated, "I'm here to tell you something,"  
The door behind her closed, startling both Ritsuko and Asuka. The two of them turned their attention over by the door where they saw Shinji.  
Shinji had a rather angered look on his face.  
"W-what are you doing here?" Ritsuko's eyes widened.  
"I woke up before they took me over to where ever they were taking me," Shinji said in a cold voice, "What are you doing here?"  
"I-I came here to get Asuka," she said, still surprised.  
It took a moment for her to compose herself. She shouldn't be all that surprised that no one knew he was up and running about. There were no cameras in the medical area of Nerv so he could sneak about without being detected. The thing that surprised her so much was that he was actually up and running about after having been shot.  
"You betrayed me," Shinji commented, his voice cold, "Of all people, I can't believe you betrayed me and sided with Nerv,"  
Ritsuko held her hands up defensively, "Hold up. Don't misunderstand,"  
"What's there to misunderstand?" Shinji said, "You never believed what I said and have resumed working for Nerv once again,"  
"I never said that," Ritsuko said, "Just hear me out,"  
"What's going on here?" Asuka was very confused.  
"I'm waiting," Shinji said.  
"Yes, it does seem like I betrayed you and came back to Nerv," she commented, "But I did it for a good reason. I came to the conclusion that I would be more useful to you if I was within Nerv than trying to help out from the outside. At least with me in here, I can be of more help to you, especially in getting in getting Unit-01 activated,"  
"What do you mean?" Shinji was skeptic.  
"I came to get Asuka out," Ritsuko said, "Nerv plans to have her self-destruct Unit-02 to defeat the Angel. I had a feeling they would do that and came here to try and convince them otherwise. I believed my word would carry more weight. Unfortunately, it seems like that isn't the case,"  
Shinji was silent.  
"I made a bad judgment call," Ritsuko said sadly, "I came back to try and convince the commander to use the Lance like you suggested, but he didn't budge. I chose to come back to Nerv because defeating the Angel is of the highest priority on my list,"  
"What, you didn't even consider that he would not take your suggestion?" Shinji asked.  
"Yes, I did," she said, "Unfortunately, you won't like what my plan would've been,"  
"And what plan would that have been?" he asked curiously.  
"I'm here to try and save her, by trying to convince the commander to make her use the Lance and not self-destruct Unit-02 as I expected," she said, "That's the only consideration I've thought of. Since that would not happen, I would've let her be sent to her death and just waited around for your arrival to help you out,"  
Shinji couldn't believe what he was hearing, "Oh my god! Just like that, you would send Asuka to her death? What kinda human being are you?"  
"One that is putting priorities first," Ritsuko steeled her feelings, "The utmost priority is defeating that Angel. If we can't defeat that Angel, then we can't help you,"  
Shinji was very angry, "I-I can't believe you would do something like that. You're not the Ritsuko I know. She would never let something like this happen,"  
"I'm not the same Ritsuko that you know," she said softly, "I may be very much like her, but considering the circumstances we are currently facing..."  
Shinji said nothing. She was definitely right. He knew Ritsuko and Ritsuko would most likely think in that fashion. She tended to think in a very logical fashion and putting priorities ahead of others was a very logical way of thinking. The problem was that she didn't seem to consider other options.  
"Unfortunately, there's gonna be a change in plans," Shinji said, "Cause Asuka isn't going up in Unit-02,"  
"What's going on here?" Asuka asked loudly, "What the heck is all this talk about my being sent to my death and Unit-02 being self-destructed?"  
Shinji turned toward Asuka, "Let's just say it's too hard to explain. Things suddenly became very complicated,"  
"Um, unfortunately, it became much more complicated," Ritsuko said, "Misato's been captured,"  
"What?" Shinji's eyes widened.  
"It turns out that Misato and I as well had been tracked all this time," she said, "I found out there was a tracking device implanted within the two of us, under our skin," She tapped at the stitched up scar above her right eyebrow, "They don't know that I know this. I knew that I will eventually be found," she said, "I betrayed you first to hide my true intentions. At least this way, Nerv really believes I betrayed you, when in reality, I knew I was eventually going to be brought back in to Nerv as a traitor. At least this way, I can secretly help you out from within. Anyway, the point is is that Misato has the same tracking device implanted within her and they have her in custody and are bringing her in as we speak,"  
Shinji pinched his nose, "God, can this get any worse?"  
Ritsuko gave a meek smile, "Unfortunately, yes,"  
"Now what?" Shinji asked, "It can't possibly get any worse,"  
"Unit-01 in no longer in Nerv anymore. It was moved to Nerv Headquarters in Germany," Ritsuko said with much regret, "That means having Unit-01 consume a core is no longer a possibility,  
"Oh, you've gotta be shitting me!"

Gendo entered the medical room where he was expecting to find Shinji unconscious and restrained. However, upon entering, he didn't see what he was expecting.  
All he saw was an empty room. Believing the guards had accidentally taken their target to the wrong room, Gendo used his good hand to bring the two-way radio he had in his hand up to his mouth.  
"Where is the target?" he talked in to the radio, "He is not in his designated room,"  
"I'm here now," he heard Shinji's voice.  
Gendo turned around, surprised.  
He found himself facing Shinji face-to-face. Shinji had quickly sneaked his way over toward the room Ritsuko had told him he was supposed to be taken to in hopes of meeting up with Gendo and giving him a piece of his mind.  
"H-how did you-?"  
"You're underestimating me," Shinji said, a battery in his hand. The moment he saw Gendo make any sudden move, he would hit him with it without a moment's hesitation.  
"What do you want?" Gendo composed himself.  
"How's the arm?" Shinji took pleasure in asking, noticing the sling Gendo was wearing.  
Gendo narrowed his eyes.  
"I can't believe you send Asuka to her death without so much as a second thought," Shinji sneered, talking more to himself to sooth his anger toward Gendo than directly talking to the man, "But then again, you're a prick and would've sent me to my death without hesitation either, huh?"  
Gendo remained silent. His finger was still pressed on the button on the radio and he knew it would only be a short time before security personnel would be storming the room to take him down. It was best to just let Shinji talk and waste time.  
"I've got plans for you," Shinji said, "I'm not going to let that happen,"  
"And how do you plan to do that?" Gendo asked curiously, abiding his time.  
"Screw you," Shinji said, "I ain't telling you anything. What you should know is that whatever you do, I'll be in your face doing what I can to stop you and your stupid secret agenda,"  
"You're going up against impossible odds," Gendo commented.  
"So are you," Shinji said, "You really think you'll be able to double-cross Seele? You're going to die just like everyone else in Nerv when the time comes. I already know you what you plan on using Rei for,"  
Gendo's eye twitched as he suddenly released the button to the radio. He didn't want anyone on the radio hearing what Shinji was saying. It seemed like Shinji knew some very personal things about him that no one knew and he didn't want it to work against him and plant a seed of doubt in to Seele.  
"You plan on using her to cause the Third Impact immediately after all the Angels are defeated," Shinji continued on, "You're doing all of this just so you could be with my mom. Well guess what? All of this crap that you're doing and will be putting through isn't justified, no matter how much you care for my mom and want to see her again,"  
Gendo's eyes widened. How was it possible that Shinji knew something like this about him? Was it really true that he was from some kind of other world? He was really skeptical and had originally thought he was some kind of spy from a rival corporation sent there to cause anarchy within Nerv.  
"Well guess what, I don't care how much you care about mom. I know you became the man you are because she's gone." Shinji sneered, "I know that, had she not disappeared, you would not be doing all of this. I heard from my friend, Ranma, that you were actually a pretty okay guy, not as cynical and jaded as you are. However, that was on a different world. On a different world, I was just a normal person, something far better than what I wanna be doing now, all of this. I learned to live with it. And so should you,"  
"Who are you to cast judgment on whether or not I should deal with what hand I've been dealt?" Gendo found himself angered.  
"Tough shit! Good night!" Shinji said, throwing a battery and hitting Gendo right in the face, sending his head cranking backwards where he fell to the floor unconscious.  
Shinji walked over to where Gendo was, contempt in his voice.  
"I hope that hurt,"

Shinji sneaked his way toward the Nerv security center. He was alone, Asuka and Ritsuko having gone off toward the EVA bay. Realizing that he was basically screwed beyond belief, what with him Unit-01 no longer being in Nerv, he had immediately thought of a contingency plan. The only one he could think of was to make his way to the security center. It was located right by the medical area and there was a good chance he would not be seen. Ritsuko had told him that there were hiding cameras all around heart of Nerv and that he needed to take out the security center before he went about sneaking through Nerv without the risk of getting caught. "That's easier said than done," Shinji had said to Ritsuko. Unfortunately, that was his only course of action since his back was up against the wall and he had nothing much else to go back.  
Hoping he wasn't being too overconfident, he believed that he might have a chance of carrying out his plans. After he took out the security center, or rather, take out everyone in there that could see him on the screen and report him, he would then head down toward the command center, hopefully without much trouble since no one was currently aware of him conscious and wandering about. Ritsuko would be there waiting for him. He needed to get there and knock out all of the personnel there so Ritsuko had the entire command center to herself. He had around ten minutes to carry all of this out since that was as long a time that Ritsuko and Asuka could stall before Asuka was sent out once again in to battle.  
From there, he would have to make his way down to the EVA bay and switch with Asuka and go out in Unit-02 and fight against the Angel. He would use the shield to get in close enough to the Angel to absorb its core.  
Shinji chuckled, somewhat delusional, "Gee, could this get any worse? I'm alone in Nerv and I use batteries to throw for self-defense," "Freeze!" came a shout.  
Shinji turned around where he saw five guards pointing automatic weapons toward him. The guards had finally located Shinji after having heard his voice on the two-way radio Gendo had been holding. Shinji instantly recognized them as soldiers and not Nerv guards. They were dressed in fatigues and were wearing masks. Before his mind could register what was going on, his body took action. Not wanting to get shot again, he leapt toward one side where he ducked in to a nearby alcove, a barrage of bullets spraying the area where he had been standing a second ago.  
Shinji hid in the tiny alcove as bullets whizzed by. He checked his pockets. He had no batteries or plastic pill bottles, the guards that had him custody having confiscated them. He had nothing to defend himself with, his element of surprise already gone, and five guards with automatic weapons were shooting at his general direction from down the corridor.  
"Great! Just great! This can not get any worse!"  
The interior of Nerv suddenly became bathed in red lights as all of Nerv was alerted of Shinji's whereabouts.  
"What the fuck? Why won't some Plot God just take a dump on my face while he's at it?" Shinji said.  
He quickly looked about, trying to think of an immediate plan.  
He turned his attention toward the door right next to him. It was one of the rooms he had checked through previous in his efforts to locate Asuka. He decided to head in and look for something to throw.  
Entering the room, he quickly scanned through it for small objects, finding none. It was most unfortunate that most rooms were empty of everything but a bed for where people could recover. It seems all medical supplies were kept in some kind of main supply room located elsewhere in the medical center.  
Searching through the draws that lined one side of the room, he found nothing of use, most of them containing medical gowns and cotton swabs.  
"Yeah, like I can knock people out throwing cottons balls," Shinji said, continuing his search. He knew he probably had no more than a minute before the guards would approach the alcove and eventually enter the room.  
He checked his pockets a second time, just in case he missed something the first time around.  
He heard a clank coming from the alcove. Looking over he noticed a small cylindrical container rolling in to the room after having bounced off one side wall of the alcove.  
Shinji immediately recognized it as some kind of tear gas container. When white smoke started shooting out from one circular end of the cylinder, it confirmed his fears.  
Without thought, he ran over and picked it up the object and ran over to the door, peeking the top of his body out from the alcove and throwing the container toward one of the guards, hitting him in the chest and sending him down to the ground unconscious.  
The container continued to spew tear gas, forcing the nearby guards to immediately grab their fallen brethren and drag him and retreat a good distance away from the tear gas where they had air to breath.  
Entering back in to the room, Shinji wiped at his teary eyes and coughed several times, almost vomiting from having gotten a lungful of the gas that second or so he was holding the container. He looked around for something to throw, searching through the draws again as if object had magically appeared where it wasn't before previously. He even checked his pockets again to make sure everything had been taken from him, as if he missed something the first and second time around.  
Looking over toward the bed, he wondered if he could use the mattress as some kind of shield as he ran from the room carrying it, dismissing it when he realized the bullets would pass through it easily and hit him on the other side.  
His eyes widened when he saw the round objects on the edge of each bedpost. Without wasting a second, he grabbed the round object and snapped them clean off the bedposts, unaware that he just snapped metal off metal.  
Running back over toward the door, he kicked the second tear gas container out of the room when it bounced off the alcove wall and rolled in to the room.  
He peeked his body out and threw two of the four round objects, hitting two guards in the head and knocking them out before he ducked back in to the alcove as a bullets whizzed by him and down the other side of the corridor.  
He waited a good twenty seconds of continuous bullet spraying before he peeked back out, throwing the two remaining round objects and hitting the remaining two guards in the face and knocking them out as well.  
Shinji breath a massive sigh of relief when he looked down the corridor and saw all five guards incapacitated. He ran out of the alcove and proceeded to head down the corridor in the opposite direction. After several steps, he stopped and turned back around, running up to the five unconscious guards, breaking the weapons by smashing them on the ground before he proceeded to frisk them from some kind of objects that could be thrown.  
"Jeez, these guys carry grenades?" Shinji's eyes widened when he recognized it. He had seen pictures of it in one of Kensuke's war books on his old world, and it looked much the same.  
He decided to pocket them, five in total, a guard carrying one each. They would make for excellent projectiles. Of course, he wouldn't bother pulling out the pin.  
As Shinji was done searching them, he looked down the corridor where he was supposed to head and saw four guards rushing toward him. They spotted him and ducked in to nearby alcoves, two to each adjacent alcoves, their weapons trained on him.  
Shinji mind raced a mile a minute as he looked around. There were no nearby alcoves so he instinctively brought up one of the unconscious guards like a human shield.  
The guards didn't open fire, scared of hitting their brethren. Shinji picked up one of the tear gas containers and threw it toward their general direction, hoping the tear gas would force them out of the alcoves where he could hit them with well-aimed grenade throws.  
When the tear gas canister didn't go off, he realized he was supposed to pull a pin or something much like a grenade.  
He picked up another one from a nearby unconscious guard and quickly scanned the back of it. It gave no instructions on how to use it. He noticed that there was one pin on it and guessed that he had to pull it before he threw it. He pulled the pin and threw it, the tear gas container that is. The container rolled to a stop right by where the guards were. A second later, smoke started billowing from the object. Shinji threw the four grenades, hitting each guard in the back of the head and knocking them out as they tried to make a run for it and away from the debilitating smoke.  
"Wow, those things work real well," he commented.  
He picked up the guard and carried him as he walked down the corridor. After several steps, he came to realize that there was an easy way of doing things.  
"This guy's about the same size as me," he commented.  
He ran in to the same room where he had taken cover. He proceeded to strip the unconscious man of his military uniform, leaving him wearing nothing but his boxers and undershirt.  
Shinji then stripped and got in to the uniform. It took no more than one minute for Shinji to switch outfits completely, even putting on the man's boots and body armor. Perhaps it was because this was a life-or-death situation that made him work so quickly and efficiently.  
Donning the ski mask, Shinji nervously stepped out of the room in back in to the corridor.  
There was no one there, at least not yet.  
He ran down the corridor, hoping his disguise would come in handy.

Shinji entered the security room.  
There were two guard in there at the time, both of them busy scanning through the dozens of monitors looking for the intruder or anyone suspicious. Nerv had reason to believe that the intruder was roaming the facility incognito and were busy looking for anyone that was acting out of the ordinary.  
"What are you doing here?" one guard asked.  
Shinji said nothing, rushing forward and executing an open-palm strike on the man's chest, sending him flying backwards in to a giant machine used to record all the cameras where he fell forward and on to his stomach unconscious. Before the other man could reach, Shinji turned toward him and grabbed his right arm, snaking under it and pivoting so that he came back up and was standing behind the man. With the man's arm firmly in his grasp, Shinji pivoted on one foot which made the man off balance and stagger in a circular fashion trying to stay afoot. As the man staggered in on direction, Shinji then suddenly pivoted the other direction, twisting the man's wrist hard, flipping them man over completely where he landed on his back hard, the wind knocked out of him. A swift punch to the gut knocked the man out. Shinji removed his mask and wiped his forehead. Wearing the body armor and outfit was making him very hot. He was also wasn't able to move quite as well in the outfit and really wanted to change.  
He looked down at the two unconscious men. Neither of them were his size, the both of them overweight and much larger than him. Besides, it would be no use since the most important thing was to cover his face. They knew what he looked like and the mask worked very well.  
Sighing, he placed the mask back on and looked at the giant console in front of him that had dozens of monitors.  
"Jeez, I can't believe there are so many monitors," Shinji commented, scanning through them.  
He caught sight of a camera in the locker room. It was the locker room where Asuka and Rei and he would change in to their pilot suits. His eyes widened when he saw Asuka through that monitor, very naked and proceeding to change in to her pilot suit.  
"Jeez, what a buncha perverts!" Shinji muttered, his gaze still on the monitor. He found himself staring at the screen a little bit too long before he quickly turned his attention away.  
"Okay, Asuka's taking her time heading to the EVA bay like I asked," he said, "That means I've got around six minutes before she needs to be inside Unit-02. If I don't get to the command center in time, she'll hafta refuse to go out and they will most likely force her out there and to her death,"  
Shinji broke the firearms the guards had on their person and proceeded to drag the them out of the room. This was because he wanted them safe from the explosion that would occur when he used his two remaining grenades to blow up the monitoring console. This would make it very hard for Nerv to know of his whereabouts.  
Before he went back in to the security room, he grabbed a set of keys from the guards. Those would come in handy since he had run out of things to throw. This way, he could use individual keys to use as projectiles.  
"Trust me, Asuka. I'll getcha outta this," Shinji said, having noticed how nervous Asuka looked on the monitor when he glanced at it again. She wasn't supposed to know about what was in store for her. She was supposed to have been told to use the shield, which was currently in the adjacent bay, to use it to get in close to the Angel, given the false information that the Angel only had ranged attacks where she would be able to kill it by hand once close enough. There, she would've been blown up with Unit-  
02 when it was self-destructed remotely. Since she now knew of what was going to happen, she didn't know what to do. It was quite a predicament for her, actively preparing to go to her death, depending her life on a young man she barely knew but had told her that they actually knew each other, a man that she didn't know if she could trust since he had lied to her initially. What had she gotten herself in to?  
Out of pure coincidence, Shinji glanced toward a random monitor where he saw a familiar figure walking down the hallway, surrounded by four figures seemingly escorting her. Taking a closer glance, he recognized the escorted figure as none other than Misato.  
Her hands were handcuffed behind her back, two guards walking in front of her and two guards behind her, all four of them carrying automatic weapons.  
"Goddamnit!" Shinji said, "As if what I'm doing now isn't impossible enough?"  
He glanced at the screen and recognized that area being displayed. It was right by the front entrance.  
"Maybe I can intercept her on the way to the control center," Shinji said.  
He took the two grenades from his pocket, very nervous about pulling the pins. He had no idea how long it would be before the grenades went off. However, he definitely didn't want to be around when it did.  
Pulling both pins, both grenades in one hand, Shinji shoved his arm right through the metal control panel, shoving it all the way up to his shoulder. He let go of the grenade, satisfied it was embedded deeply enough to utterly destroy the console and quickly turned around and left the room.  
Once outside the room, he grabbed the two unconscious guards and dragged them down the corridor a safe distance away. When the two grenades exploded, Shinji was nowhere near the area, already in full sprint toward Nerv's front entrance.  
"Misato, here I come,"  
Misato gritted her teeth in anger.  
She couldn't believe she had been captured. She had tried so hard to get away but couldn't. She had no idea how they had managed to find her so easily either. At least she didn't go down without a fight. She had managed to take out shoot two pursuers before she ran out of bullets and had to surrender.  
Her face her. She had been punched by one of the pissed-off guards that had watched two of his brethren taken down by a single woman and have vented his anger toward her.  
"You're lucky you ran out of bullets," the man sneered toward Misato's back, "If you hadn't I would've enjoyed blowing your brains out,"  
"Fuck you," Misato sneered.  
A kick to the small of her back sent her tumbling forward where she slid to a halt on her stomach a good distance down the corridor. The other three guards pretended like they saw nothing, them also very angry toward Misato. They felt the need to slap her around a few times for what she had done but wasn't quite brave enough to so like the one that had kicked her.  
Misato made her way up to a sitting position, a defiant look on her face.  
"You bitch!" the man walked up to her and slapped her, making her cut the interior of her cheek against her teeth. A small trickle of blood fell from her lips as she returned her acid gaze on the man.  
Hidden in an alcove, Shinji's hands tightened in to fists. He became enraged at what he was seeing. Unfortunately, he could do nothing. The guards were too far away for him to approach them without them getting suspicious. Sure, he was incognito, but there was a chance that they would be suspicious of seeing just him and approaching them instead of looking for the intruder.  
He watched as they just watched as Misato had to help herself back up to her feet and then giving her a quick shove to get her moving along.  
When they got closer and closer, Shinji decided he was going to take the bully guard with his bare-hands. He wanted him to see what was coming to him for what they had been doing to Misato. He was going to take pleasure in teaching them a lesson.  
When the walked by the alcove, Shinji stepped out of the darkness to face them, grabbing one unsuspecting guard as he walked in front of Misato and threw him hard in to the other guard walking in front. Both of them didn't know what hit them and were knocked unconscious easily, sliding to a halt on top of one another a good distance away.  
Shinji then immediately dashed forward and executed a move labeled the 'splitting mountain', a devastatingly powerful technique that had it where Shinji dashed forward and pivoted around at the last second and slammed his back in to the opponents chest, sending the hapless guard tumbling unconscious a good fifty feet down the corridor.  
Before the final guard to react, Shinji threw his keys at the man's weapon, throwing it with such force that the weapon broke right in half and fell to the floor in two pieces.  
"What the?" the man looked down at his hands.  
When the man tried to pull out his standard issue hand gun, Shinji kicked it out of the man's hands.  
Misato had this rather confused look on her face as she wondered who this soldier savior of hers was.  
Shinji pulled off his mask and walked right up to the man. The man stood a good head taller and probably thirty pounds heavier. However, Shinji seemed not one bit intimidated.  
Misato's eyes widened as she recognized Shinji. He looked like a drink of water to a woman dying of thirst. She was incredibly relieved and happy to see him.  
The man and Shinji stared at each other.  
"You think you're all tough bullying Misato like that? Why dontcha try that with me?" The man regarded the young man and smirked. He found it amusing that this little man standing before him seemed to be challenging him to a fight.  
Shinji slapped the guy on the side of the face in what was best described as a 'bitch slap'. Unfortunately, the man fell to the floor unconscious like a sack of potatoes, Shinji accidentally having slapped him a bit too hard.  
"Let's see you if you smile now," Shinji smirked, waiting for the man to get back up.  
The man didn't get back up. Instead, he, like all the other guards, remained motionless where they lay.  
Shinji walked up to the guy, figuring the man was playing possum. When he noticed he had accidentally knocked the guy out, he sighed.  
"Damn. That was no fun,"

new stuff 12/9

Misato followed closely behind Shinji.  
The two of them were on their way toward Nerv command center, time of the essence but the need to be cautious preventing them from simply rushing there.  
She couldn't believe how good Shinji's sneaking skills were. If it weren't for the fact that she had her eyes where trained on him the whole time, she knew she would easily lose track of him. Several times, she had paused to cautiously look over her shoulder, only to turn her attention forward and see Shinji a good distance ahead of her already. It was as if Shinji was able to erase his presence completely.  
Shinji sneaked down the corridor, armed to the teeth with weapons. Actually, all he was a handful of pocket change, having swiped it from one of the unconscious guards and four tear gas canisters, but that was more than enough for Shinji to use effectively.  
Misato had a hand gun and three magazines full of bullets. She had promised she would not use the gun unless absolutely necessary, Shinji very opposed to her carrying one. She glanced down toward her wrists where there were slightly marks where the handcuffs had once pinched her. She was still shocked Shinji had managed to break them using his bare-hands, it taking too much time for him to find the right key to open them.  
She glanced up and noticed Shinji farther down the corridor. Swearing to herself, she quickly rushed ahead after him.  
Reaching him, she was shocked to see Shinji throw a handful of coins where he incapacitated three hapless guards, all of them falling to the ground, hurt.  
Shinji ran up to them and proceeded to break their weapons and frisk them for objects to throw. He felt bad while simultaneously didn't. He didn't want to hurt people but considering these people wouldn't hesitate to hurt him or Misato, he had to take that in to consideration and steel himself and allow himself to be able to hurt people. "Why dontcha just use a gun?" Misato asked.  
"I'm doing fine without one," Shinji replied, pocketing the guards' pocket change and keys before proceeding down the corridor, "Besides, I pretty sure I'll never be able to bring myself to shoot someone with a gun,"  
Misato looked down at the three guards writhing in pain on the ground as she walked past them. She found it oddly amusing how Shinji believed he could not bring himself to shoot someone when his method of incapacitating people seem far more brutal. Sure, his aim was square and true, but those coins did serious damage. It made her wonder if it hurt more getting shot or hit with one of Shinji's thrown coins.  
"W-where did you learn to do that?" Misato asked softly.  
"Ranma," Shinji said, "He showed me how to throw things really accurately. If I didn't know better, I swear that Ranma probably knew that I would be doing this in the future and purposely trained me,"  
"Do you really think so?"  
Shinji shrugged, "I don't know. I wouldn't be surprised if that's the case but I doubt it,"  
"Whoever this Ranma is, he seems to have trained you well," Misato said, "You seem to really know what you're doing,"  
"Thanks. And, no, I have no idea what I'm doing," he stated, "I'm just fumbling along hoping what I'm doing is right but I have no idea if it is. There's one thing that kinda has me wondering. I have no idea if I have merely overestimated Nerv's security or if Ranma had trained me so well that it seems like they are more of an annoyance than anything else,"  
"Maybe it's because your dormant powers are making it easier and easier for you to get around in here," Misato commented.  
Shinji shrugged, "I dunno. I don't really think so though. I seem to heal incredibly fast but I can still get hurt and even knocked out. I'm pretty sure I can get killed and definitely don't wanna find out the hard way,"  
The two of proceeded to make their way to the command center.  
"What are we going to do once we get to the command center?" Misato asked curiously.  
"I've gotta get down there and clear it out of everyone and basically seal it up so only Ritsuko, and now you I guess, will be able to take control so I can get in to Unit-02,"  
"What?"  
"Unit-01 isn't here anymore," Shinji said, "I need to use Unit-02 instead. Once I get in there and clear everyone out, you guys can help me get Unit-02 activated. From there, I'll use Unit-02 to get down to Central Dogma to retrieve the Lance of Longinus, I'll then retrieve the heat shield and you guys and get you safely out of Nerv while make my way to the surface,"  
"What heat shield?" she asked.  
"Nerv has already acquired a heat shield that can sustain direct fire from the Angel's particle beam," Shinji said, "I'm gonna use that to get in close enough to the Angel so I can have Unit-02 try and take in that Angel's core. As to exactly where the core is or if the Angel has one, that's something I haven't quite figured out yet. I'm gonna bring the Lance along with me just in case I can't take in the Angel's core and will kill it instead,"  
"Oh my god! What kinda plan is that? Have you any idea how-" she began.  
"Impossible it sounds?" Shinji finished for her, "I know, but it's the only one I've got,"  
"This is insane!" Misato gasped.  
"That's how it's been for me ever since I got here. Ever since I got here, I learned on thing," he gave a meek smile.  
"And what's that?"  
"I've been basically screwed shortly after I got here and all I could do is just handle one complication at a time as they're thrown my way,"

Shinji and Misato made it to the command center with few incidents, only bumping in to several more guards, Shinji knocking them all out before they knew what hit them.  
Entering the command center, Shinji caught sight of Ritsuko as she patiently waited by the main console. Within the center, he immediately noticed that there were four individuals in there that needed to be removed. They were Maya, Fuyutsuki, Makoto, and Shigeru.  
He found himself unable to do so, to carry out the nasty deed of doing so. He couldn't hurt them. Instead, he used the automatic weapon, which he carried around merely as decoration to thwart suspicion, to scared them and round them up and in to a restroom located just outside the command center where they were tied up to one of the stalls. Finding no strings or rope to tie them up with, he used their shoelaces to tie them up.  
"Don't say a word," Shinji said, feeling weird telling them what to do. As he left the room, he took care to bar the handle with his automatic weapon, hoping it would be sufficient enough to keep them from running off. It would only be a short time before they get out and try and escape. At least this way, it would give him some extra time.  
He entered the control center again and toward Misato and Ritsuko, "Do you think you guys can handle it from here?"  
Ritsuko nodded, "Yes,"  
"All right," he said, "I'm gonna head for Unit-02 now. If I don't run in to heavy resistance, I'll be there within two minutes,"  
"Okay," Ritsuko said, "It'll be ready for activation by the time you get there,"  
"Um, what should I do about Asuka now that she won't be needing to go out?" he asked.  
Ritsuko thought for a moment, "Just tell her to wait in the bay. Nerv will think you stole Unit-02 right out from under her before she could get in and pilot it. They won't know what really happened,"  
"Um, are you sure?" Shinji asked, concern in his voice, "I don't want Nerv to think that she was helping us out and punishing her for it,"  
"Well, you can always bring her with you if you want," Misato said, a bit eager to meet the girl, "You can drop the three of us off right before you go after the Angel, drop us off by an electronics store if possible,"  
"Okay, I'll drop you off," he said, "But what about the tracking devices? You'll be found and captured in no time," He felt a bit bad that he didn't think ahead about it. But then again, considering all that was going on, it was easy to miss a detail like that, even if it was a rather large detail. "Don't worry about it," Ritsuko said, "With the proper equipment, I can create a makeshift device that'll emit electromagnetic pulses. It'll short out the tracking device and render it useless,"  
Shinji smiled, "Wow, you can? That's great,"  
The control center was immediately bathed in red light.  
Misato looked at a nearby computer console. Her eyes widened, "Oh god! The Angel's managed to drill through all but the last layer of plating. It'll only be several more minutes before it's drilled its way in to GeoFront,"  
Shinji sighed, "Jeez, as if I wasn't already under enough pressure..."  
"Get going," Ritsuko said, "And don't worry about the remote self-destruction trigger. I'll have it disabled from here in no time, well before he get us,"  
"Okay," he said.  
"Good luck," both girls said. "Same to you," he said, "I'll be back in a few minute with Unit-02 to get you guys out of here and to safety,"  
Shinji ran out of the room, heading for the EVA bay where Unit-02 was located. Misato checked her gun, taking care to check the chamber and the magazine to make sure it was fully loaded. "God, that Angel's right upon us," Ritsuko said.  
"Talk about crunch-time," Misato said, "It also doesn't help that there's a good change that we, actually, I, will find myself in gun fight," Misato said, "But if I do, I'm ready to hold them off until Shinji gets back. Thank goodness it'll only be for a few minutes,"  
"Do you believe he'll come back to get us? Do you believe his word is good?" Ritsuko asked.  
"Yeah. I'm sure of it," she said without hesitation.  
"I wish I could think like you," she said with a sigh, "I wish I didn't see everything so pessimistically,"  
"Hey, it's the way you are," Misato shrugged, "It can't be helped,"  
"I guess you're right," Ritsuko felt a bit better. She would truly, deeply, believe in Shinji. She needed someone to trust, wanted someone to trust. Shinji seemed perfect for the role.  
She smiled as she went over to a console and went about getting ready to activate Unit-02, putting it on standby for Shinji, all the while proceeding to rewrite the program that allowed for the remote self-destruction of Unit-02. God forbid that Shinji came back with Unit-02 and got them out of Nerv, only to have it self-destruct remotely shortly after they make it to the surface.  
Misato smirked, "I've got a question,"  
"What is it?" Ritsuko didn't look up from her screen, still scanning through the thousands of lines of code for the few codes that she needed to change to disable Unit-02's remote self-destruction.  
"Shinji didn't really give me the full details, but what's this thing about you actually giving yourself up and going back to working for Nerv?"  
"It's rather complicated," Ritsuko said.  
"So is the stuff Shinji's currently going through. I think whatever you tell me doesn't compare," Misato commented.  
"I guess you have a point,"  
Shinji met up with Asuka in the EVA bay. He managed to knock out the three guards watching over Asuka to make sure she was okay. They had been there in case the intruder might be try and target her and were knocked out easily by well-aimed throws from a rather odd-looking objects.  
Asuka looked very happy to see him. She surprised the heck out of him when she ran up and hug him.  
"You're finally here!" she smiled happily.  
"Um, o-of course," he blushed slightly, an image seeing her naked while she changed in the locker room flashing through his mind.  
Asuka had a confused look on her face, "D-did you just knock those guards out by throwing shoes?"  
Shinji gave a meek smile, "Yeah. I had to take shoelaces off a few people to tie them up in a restroom. Before I came here, I stopped back in that restroom and took a few pairs of shoes, just in case. I guess they came in handy,"  
He smirked. That sounded like a reverse pun, throwing 'shoes' because they came in 'handy'.  
"I-is that possible, knocking people out by hitting them with shoes?" she asked, still shocked, looking down at the unconscious guards.  
"Yeah," he said, "I did just that,"  
"So what's going to happen?" she asked, "What should I do?"  
She couldn't believe she was asking for advice. She was supposed to be very independent. However, considering the how dire the situation was, she knew that there were much more things at stake than her pride.  
"I feel uncomfortable of leaving you here and making it seem like I stole Unit-02 right out from under you," he said, "I would like for you to come with me. We can ride in Unit-02 together and get out of here. That way, all the heat from Nerv will be on me because then they'll think I kidnapped you," Asuka gulped, "Kidnap? Y-you're going to kidnap me?"  
"No! I'm not doing that," Shinji said, waving a dismissive hand, "I want to take you with me so it'll seem like I kidnapped you. That way, Nerv won't think you've had any role in this whatsoever. Considering my situation, I absolutely have to steal Unit-02. You might get punished for my doing it and I want to make sure that doesn't happen along the way,"  
"S-so what do you want me to do, go along with you in the entry plug?" she asked.  
"Yeah," he nodded.  
"But you can't have two people in the entry plug together," she said, "It'll create a disturbance in synchronization,"  
Shinji shook his head, "Not all that much. I've helped pilot Unit-02 with the alternate version of you and it worked out fine. Please, just trust me,"  
"Um, okay," she gulped, hoping she was making the right decision.  
"All right, let's get going," he said.  
Asuka followed Shinji up the stairs and up to the entrance to the entry plug. Together, they entered.  
Inside, Shinji sat down on the pilot seat.  
"W-where do I sit?" she asked.  
"Just sit on my lap," he said.  
"What?" her eyes widened.  
Shinji said, "It has to be that way. I can't sit on your lap. I'm too heavy,"  
Asuka was silent.  
Shinji scooted toward the side, "All right, we'll try and sit next to each other,"  
They had tried to sit side by side in the seat but Shinji was larger than her and she found herself falling out of the seat. She knew sitting on his lap didn't seem to be any bit as effective trying to sit next to him. Actually, she knew it would be much more awkward.  
"Just sit on my lap, Asuka!" Shinji said, looking at his watch, "The Angel's already broken through to GeoFront. We can't waste time,"  
Asuka wanted to protest but said nothing. Reluctantly, she did as she was told and sat on his lap, blushing a deep shade of red as she did so.  
She felt extremely uncomfortable and was starting to have doubt about her choice of action.  
Shinji began talking out the start-up sequence, feeling a sense a great sense of nostalgia.  
"LCL filling up entry plug. Beginning activation sequence. Opening nerve-link channels. Blah blah blah. Lots of stuff activated. Go!"

Asuka gasped at how great a pilot Shinji was. He made Unit-02 move like she had never believed it was capable of moving. He made EVA move its arms and legs as if was actually a part of his own body.  
Her gaze was fixed firmly on the screen in front of her as she was seeing thing she had never seen before.  
After Shinji maneuvered Unit-02 to travel down a large elevator and throw a giant pair of steel doors, she found herself looking at what looked like the top half of a giant white humanoid-like creature that had a purple face and seven eyes. There was this giant red spear-like object sticking out of its chest as it seemed to be crucified on a giant red cross.  
"W-what's that?" Asuka asked, her eyes wide.  
"Right now, you're seeing secrets to Nerv that only a handful of people know about," Shinji commented, "That's Lilith, the second Angel. That thing you see sticking out of its chest is the Lance of Longinus,"  
Asuka was speechless.  
Shinji maneuvered Unit-02 across this giant see of LCL situated in front of and below Lilith and up close to it. He made Unit-02 grab both of its arms on the Lance and yank it from Lilith's chest.  
Lance firmly in Unit-02's hands, Shinji proceeded to head out of Central Dogma. One task down, several more to go. All he had left to do was go back to the bay where the heat shield was being kept and pick the shield up, then pick up Ritsuko and Misato, and last but no least, find some way to get close enough to the Angel, which was on the brink of breaking through to GeoFront, to either absorb its core or kill it with the Lance at the very least. He had just around four minutes left to carry all of this out.  
"Man, talk about pressure..."  
Shinji had no problem retrieving the heat shield and the Misato and Ritsuko. He had a bit of problems having Unit-02 carry the heat shield and Lance in one hand while carrying Misato and Ritsuko in the other though. He was happy when he broke through in to the command center and found Misato and Ritsuko perfectly fine. No one had been there since Shinji had left from there.  
While they were on the elevator on the way up toward the surface, Shinji took the opportunity to let Ritsuko and Misato in to the entry plug.  
Ritsuko and Misato ended up sitting next to one another behind the pilot seat.  
"This is disgusting!" Misato said, feeling sick after her lungs took in the LCL fluid.  
Shinji smirked, "I guess getting used to it is easier said than done. What's funny is that the other version of you mentioned how I was being a baby when I was complaining about the LCL,"  
"I would never say that," Misato commented.  
Shinji said, "Um, but you did. But then again, I guess that's because you don't really know how weird it feels having your lungs fill with that stuff so I guess it's understandable,"  
"It's stuffy in here,"  
"How went everything?" Shinji asked Ritsuko.  
"Everything went fine," Ritsuko said, "It only took me a minute to disable the remote self-destruction program,"  
Misato smirked, "Yeah, she works real quickly. She found the lines of codes that enabled that option and simply remarked it from the program. She scanned through what looked like thousands and thousands of lines of code and found the one she was looking for,"  
"Well, if you know what you're looking for, then it isn't all that hard," Ritsuko smiled, "Also, I disable several security features,"  
"Like what?" Shinji asked.  
"Because you're basically stealing Unit-02 right out from under Nerv's nose, they will definitely not sit idle about it," Ritsuko said, "There are a few things that they could implement to stop us, like full LCL pressurization, electro-shock, remote entry plug ejection, and a few other things. I had them all disabled. The only thing that can't be circumnavigated is the battery run-  
time,"  
"Wow, you did all of that in the couple of minutes?" Shinji's eyes widened, "That's amazing," Ritsuko smiled, "Thanks. It's something I'm good at,"  
Misato smirked, "I guess Ritsuko and you are alike. You work very well under pressure,"  
Shinji said, "I dunno about that. I feel like the pressure's really getting to me. It's like one bad thing constantly happens after another. It's like I'm taking one step forward only to hafta take two steps back. I'm much worse off now than when I first came to this world,"  
He glanced over toward the timer by the right of his screen. It indicated that there were only three minutes of battery support left.  
"Man, I really hope I have enough time," Shinji said, "I really wish I don't have this time limit hanging over my head,"  
"I wouldn't really matter anyway," Ritsuko said logically, "The heat shield will only last seventeen seconds against a direct attack from the Angel's particle beam. Even if Unit-02 wasn't running on battery support, you wouldn't be able to last three minutes against it anyway,"  
Shinji smirked, "Thanks. That makes me feel much much better,"  
"Um, sorry," Ritsuko gave a sheepish smile. Perhaps she shouldn't had said that.  
The top of the elevator opened, revealing the evening sky. "Damn, I can't believe it, it's only been a few hours since I was just wandering around in Asuka's school," Shinji said, "Just a few hours ago, I was worrying about whether or not I'll be able to get food from the cafeteria before it ran out. Now, I'm doing this. It kinda puts things in to perspective..."  
"Well, if you wanted, we could've shared lunch," Asuka said softly, hiding her blush. It wasn't from the fact that she was sitting on Shinji's lap but rather at the embarrassment at her dropping a hint that she kind of liked him, despite all that has happened.  
"Huh?"  
"Ooh, Asuka seems to like Shinji," Misato gave a wry smile.  
"I-I d-do not!" Asuka blushed beet red, "And why are you acting all familiar with me? Just because we met very briefly in Germany and again few minutes ago doesn't mean you know me,"  
Not really knowing how to react to such a comment, she figured it was best to be defensive about it.  
"From what I see, it really does seem like Asuka here has crush on Shinji here," Ritsuko smirked.  
Shinji's right eyelid twitched a bit.  
How was he to respond to something like that? Asuka had a crush on him? That was impossible! The Asuka he knew basically hated his guts or at least seriously disliked him. This Asuka is very much the same. How was that possible? The cockpit was suddenly bathed in red light.  
A mechanical sounding voice emanated from the speaker within the cockpit.  
'Remote self-destruct sequence activated. Unit-02 will self-destruct in one minute'  
"What?"

"What the hell's going on?" Shinji shouted, turning toward Ritsuko, "I thought you disabled it!"  
"I did! I swear to God I did!" she said, the blood draining from her face.  
"Obviously, it seems like you didn't!" he gasped, "We're in a sitting time-  
bomb! When this thing blows up, it's going to take out half this city with it!"  
"I-I don't want to die!" Asuka said, sounding very much like a scared little girl. "D-do something!" Misato shouted in to Shinji's ears.  
"Like what?" he said.  
"I dunno! Anything!" Misato continued to shout.  
Shinji's mind raced as the elevator Unit-02 was standing on finally came to a stop on the surface. When it did, an indicator on the screen showed that the Angel was dangerously close.  
"Holy fucking shit! Unit-02's gonna blow up and we still have the goddamn Angel to worry about!" Shinji shouted, not caring how vulgar he sounded.  
Without a moment's hesitation, he brought the heat shield up to protect Unit-  
02 in anticipation to the particle beam that would be fired from the Angel, simultaneously running straight toward the Angel. The most important thing to do right now was to defeat that Angel.  
"What the hell? It's not firing at us!" Misato commented. It surprised her that she was able to notice that considering her life was flashing right before her eye.  
Shinji didn't bother questioning why the Angel wasn't firing, continuing to run toward the Angel, heat shield held in front with one hand, the Lance grasped firmly in the other.  
"Forget trying to take in its core," Shinji said, "I need to kill the Angel now,"  
It was rather odd that the Angel was doing nothing. All it did was just float there as if it didn't know what to do or was waiting for something.  
Without a moment's hesitation, Shinji made Unit-02 jump in the air in an attempt to slice the Angel right in half. The Lance did just that, splitting the Angel right down the middle where it fell to the ground in two clean-cut pieces.  
Without caring to see if the Angel had been defeated, Shinji made Unit-02 kneel on the ground.  
'Thiry seconds until remote self-destruction'  
"Goddamn!" Shinji shouted, ejected the entry plug.  
The three girls in there were in a state of shock, not knowing what to do.  
"Follow me!" he shouted at them loudly, picking Asuka up as he got out of the cockpit seat and proceeded toward the back of the entry plug.  
Misato and Ritsuko said nothing, letting Shinji past them and watching as he proceeded to kick at the entry plug door really hard, waiting for it to open up automatically taking too long.  
A swift kick sent the door flying outward where if fell down over hundred feet and clanked on the ground by Unit-02's feet.  
Without a moment's hesitation, he grabbed Misato's and Ritsuko's hands, yanking them toward him, grabbing a hold of them.  
With all three girls in his arms, he jumped out of the entry plug, leaping through the air and fell over a hundred feet to the ground below.  
All three girls screamed at the top of their lungs as the ground rushed up toward them. They stopped screaming when Shinji landed firmly in his feet, none of them crashing in to the ground like they were expecting.  
Gritting his teeth from the pain shooting up both of his legs from the shock of landing after such a high fall, he limped toward the opening the Angel had created drilling in to the ground. The pain was unbearable, worse than when he had gotten shot in the leg. Perhaps this was because his right ankle had been broken from the impact of the landing while supporting the weight of all three girls.  
Without stopping to look back, he limped to the edge of the giant circular hole in the ground and glanced in. It was basically an Angel-made shaft that pierced right through the surface ground of Tokyo-3 and all the way in to GeoFront through its ceiling. "I hope we survive this!" Shinji said, swallowing the lump in his throat.  
Carrying all three girls, he jumped in to the shaft just as Unit-02 self-  
destructed.  
All three girls screamed in fear as they fell down the shaft. They saw the drilled-through armor layers rushing by them around the rounded walls of the shaft as they continued to free-fall. They shouted even more when they looked up and saw a the sky disappear, replaced by a wall of fire coming down that shaft from the exploding Unit-02.  
Before they knew it, the shaft disappeared as they found themselves looking down at the vast expanse that was GeoFront. Only after a moment did they realize that they were falling, that they had just fell right through the shaft that Angel had drilled in to the ground of Tokyo-3 and in to GeoFront.  
They screamed as watched the ground rushing up toward them from below and a wall of fire rushing toward them from above.  
After a moment, the fire above seemed to recede as it seemed to have reached its maximum distance and disappeared. Unfortunately, the ground rushing toward them was still something that they needed to worry about.  
Shinji steeled himself for the rough landing he was going to have and calmed himself. He knew he was not going to be walking away from this landing okay but swore to himself that he would do make sure that Misato, Ritsuko, and Asuka would be okay.  
Shinji's feet hit the ground with thunderous force. A loud snapping sound could be heard as he broke both of his legs and his other ankle from the impact. All three girls also hit the floor, Shinji having lost his holding on them at the moment of impact. Luckily for them, he had slowed their descent so much that they only ended up getting the wind knocked out of them when the hit the ground.  
All three girls were in a state of shock as they tried to recover and figured out what had just happened and how they had managed to survive that.  
Looking about, they found themselves standing in the middle of a small grater around five feet in radius. Directly above them and saw a large opening in what used to be the ceiling of GeoFront. It was so large they could easily see the evening sky high above through that opening. The opening was probably around a hundred feet in diameter.  
"Oh my god! How did we survive that?" Misato gasped, the first one to catch her breath, turning toward Ritsuko and Asuka, "Are you two okay?"  
"Yeah," Asuka said, trying to catch her breath.  
"My God, did we just fall all the way from up there?" Ritsuko had this very shocked look on her face, still trying to comprehend what had just happened. Everything felt surreal now.  
"Yeah," Misato said.  
"Shinji!" they heard Asuka's scream.  
Misato and Ritsuko looked over toward where Shinji was and notice him lying in the middle of the crater, unconscious, his legs bent at awkward angle. It didn't take a genius to realize that both of Shinji's legs was broken.  
"Shinji!"

new stuff 12/10

Misato kneeled down by Shinji and checked his pulse.  
"I-is he okay?" Ritsuko asked, concern in her voice.  
Asuka felt like she was going to vomit from seeing Shinji's legs in such a sorry state. Legs don't bend like that but Shinji's sure did. All she could do was turn her head away in shock, her stomach curdling. "H-his pulse is very faint," Misato said.  
"We've got to get him medical attention," Ritsuko said.  
"Of course we do," Misato said, "His body's going to go in to shock if he isn't treated right away,"  
"How? Where?" Asuka asked, steeling herself, wanting to help out in whatever way she can.  
"We surrender," Misato said, gently taking one of Shinji's arms and throwing it over her shoulders, "We bring Shinji back to Nerv. That way, at least he could be given the medical attention that he needs,"  
"W-what makes you think that they will?" Ritsuko asked, gently taking a hold of Shinji's other arm and throwing it over her shoulder, "Considering what Shinji's done, they might actually try and execute him. Also, what do you think going to happen to us? Considering what we did is nothing short of treason, us being executed is probably the best case scenario of we go back,"  
Misato said nothing. Ritsuko definitely had a point. They would most definitely be executed. It was surprising how they weren't executed earlier before. What made it even worse was Asuka had been innocently dragged in to all of this.  
What were they to do? "Ugh," Shinji moaned.  
This startled both girls as they turned their attention toward Shinji.  
They gently placed his back down on the ground at the bottom of the crater they were in and knelt down beside him.  
"Shinji?" Misato said in a soft voice.  
Shinji rubbed at his forehead, "Ow, my head,"  
"Shinji, don't do anything," Misato told him, "You need to stay still and not move. You're badly hurt,"  
"You're telling me," he said, "I think I have a concussion from when my head busted against my knees when I landed. How long was I out?"  
He got up to his feet, a bit disoriented. He staggered a few times as he tried to regain his balance, his legs seemingly having trouble working.  
Misato and Ritsuko and Asuka started in absolute shock.  
"How long was I out?" he asked, rubbing his head. He felt like he had a migraine. Oddly enough, the throbbing in his head disappeared after a second leaving him wondering if he had just imagined it.  
"What the hell?" Misato gasped, "H-how is this possible?"  
He looked down at his feet and moved his right foot around. It seemed to work fine now, "That's funny, I thought I twisted my ankle when I landed after jumping out of Unit-02 but I guess I didn't,"  
The then turned toward Misato.  
Shinji turned toward Misato, "What do you mean by that? How is it possible what?" "Y-you're standing," Ritsuko commented, "T-that shouldn't be possible! Both your legs are broken!"  
Shinji's eyes widened, "What?"  
He looked down at his legs, worried about what he was going to see. He remembered watching on televisions it sometimes took a minute or so before the body had a chance to realize just how badly hurt it was.  
His legs looked perfectly fine thought.  
He moved both of them around. He felt no pain and they looked like they worked fine.  
"Are you sure?" he asked, "I feel fine,"  
All three girls were in a state of speechlessness. They were unable to comprehend how it was possible for Shinji to get up considering the state he was in. His legs were broken! It didn't take a genius to see and realize that. How come Shinji didn't seem to realize that as well? Some people did have a high pain-threshold, but no matter how high the pain threshold a person had, a person could not get up to his feet with two broken legs. It was physically impossible.  
Shinji looked skyward toward the GeoFront ceiling as he tried to assess the situation.  
"Man, things seem to have gone from bad to worse," Shinji said, "Unit-02 somehow self-destructed,"  
"Shinji," Misato said. "What is it?" he asked.  
"Your legs," Misato pointed, "They're broken! Aren't you in excruciating pain? You should not be able to stand!"  
Shinji looked down at his legs again and then back up at Misato, "No, I'm not in pain. My legs feel fine. I could've sworn I knocked myself out when I landed wrong but I guess it was only temporarily. Why, what happened?"  
"W-we saw your legs...and they were both broken," Ritsuko said, "You had at least compound fractures in each leg. For you to be standing...that's just impossible,"  
"D-do you think it's because of my healing abilities?" he asked.  
"How could that be? We didn't even see the healing take place," Misato said, "You were completely out cold and your legs were obviously broken one second. The very next second, you woke up and got up to your feet like none of that took place,"  
Shinji scratched his head, confused.  
"How did you do it?" Misato asked.  
"How did I do what? I dunno what I did? I didn't even know my legs were broken," he said, "I thought I had a twisted ankle because I remembered feeling a stinging sensation after I landed after jumping out of Unit-02, but I guess I was mistaken,"  
"T-this is completely incomprehensible," Ritsuko commented, "I don't understand how this could possibly happen. It defies logic,"  
"Look, do we hafta worry about that?" Shinji asked, "If my legs were broken like you said, maybe my healing abilities are really starting to kick in. The problem is that that shouldn't be the issue at the moment. We need to regroup,"  
"Oh no, we've got company," Misato commented, glancing out over the edge of the crater where she saw over a dozen armed soldiers heading in their direction. They looked very menacing and seemed like they had been given direct orders to shoot on sight. Shinji sighed, "Damn, why does it hafta always be one thing right after another? Can't I have a least a little bit of time to gather my thoughts before another huge obstacle is thrown my way? Jeez,"  
He looked around and smirked when he saw rocks all over the crater.  
"Oh well, I guess all I could do is continue to handle the problems as they come my way, starting with these people," he muttered.  
He grabbed a handful of rocks and edged up toward the top of the crater where he threw a handful of rocks in the solders' general direction, the randomly thrown rock hitting and incapacitating three of them easily. Two more soldiers were incapacitated by rocks before they realized what was going on. Because they were basically standing in an open field with nothing but grass extending in all directions and Shinji and company basically entrenched a good distance in front of them, the soldiers got down in to a prone position, their weapons trained toward Shinji's location, wanting to present the least amount of target for Shinji.  
Shinji ducked back in to the crater as bullets flew overhead. Asuka shrieked in fear as Ritsuko found herself taking cover, also very frightened, throwing herself over the scared little girl to protect her.  
Misato took her gun from her holster and nervously clutched at it, waiting for an opening in the stream of bullets spraying overhead so she could return fire.  
Shinji placed a hand on Misato's forearm.  
"W-what?" she asked.  
"Just stay down," he said in a rather calm voice, "I can take care of them. There's nothing but open field and there are plenty of rocks in here to throw. I'm getting good at this so there's no need for you to do anything,"  
He glanced over and noticed how frightened Asuka looked as she seemed to be crying underneath the bullets flying overhead. "Just watch over her," he said, "She needs more help than I do,"  
"O-okay," Misato said.  
She scooted over toward where the cowering Asuka was and threw her body over her to cover her and make her feel more safe.  
As Shinji leaned his back against the edge of the crater and waited for an opening in the spray of bullets flying overhead, a tear gas canister landed right by his feet, making a thud-like noise when it landed in the dirt and rocks.  
"Oh my god! T-that's tear gas!" Misato glanced over and gasped.  
Without any hesitation, Shinji leaned forward picked up the canister. He threw it over his head and behind him. Since he knew the exactly how far away the group was, he didn't even need to look at where he threw the canister, knowing full well that he had put in just enough strength his backwards lob so that the canister would land dead-smack in the middle of that group.  
He waited as the bullets suddenly stopped, the tear gas effecting several people, before he stood up and turned around, throwing a rock and incapacitating yet another soldier before ducking back down.  
Another tear gas canister landed by his feet.  
He picked it back up and lobbed it backwards toward the group of soldiers, all from the safety of the crater. Once again, when the canister released it gases by the soldiers, the bullets stopped shortly as they tried to run away from the gas, allowing Shinji the opportunity to throw two more rocks and incapacitate two more soldiers.  
More bullets flew overhead. Yet another tear gas canister landed in the crater, Shinji doing the same once again. However, this time around, when he stood up and tried to throw a couple more rocks, bullets narrowly missed him, forcing him to duck back down.  
"They're started to catch on," Shinji muttered.  
He leaned forward and grabbed several handfuls of rocks. It would only be a matter of time before they soldiers threw a tear gas canister and have it land a short distance away from the crater, letting the gas spew out so it could reach the crater from a distance.  
Shinji waited patiently for an opportunity. When there was a brief moment when the bullets stopped flying overhead, Shinji stood up and threw both handfuls of rocks in the soldiers' general direction.  
As he did so, he ended up taking a round in his left shoulder. Luckily for him, he threw enough rocks that it managed to hit all remaining soldiers and incapacitate them.  
Shinji fell back in to the crater clutching at his shoulder as blood started pouring out, soaking his shirt red. Pain shot up and down his left arm and chest. "Shinji!" Misato shouted, rushing toward Shinji's side, "A-are you okay?"  
Shinji stopped squirming suddenly, only a few seconds later after he had been shot. He rubbed at his shoulder and noticed something. The pain had suddenly disappeared.  
"What the?" he muttered.  
He looked down at himself and noticed that there was a hole in his shirt where the bullet entered his body. He opened up the front of his shirt and looked toward his shoulder, dreading what he was going to see. To his surprise, he saw nothing, not even a bullet hole.  
"What the hell? I could've sworn I got shot," he said. He noticed the blood on his shirt but found not wound. The pain had only lasted a fraction of a second that it felt like it had never existed at all, that it had all been in his mind, like the time he thought he sprained his ankle.  
His eyes widened. Maybe it wasn't his blood. Maybe it was Misato's or Ritsuko's or Asuka's.  
He glanced toward Misato and noticed that she looked fine. Ritsuko was still covering over Asuka and hadn't moved. None of them but him seem to have any blood on their clothes.  
"A-are you all right?" Misato asked.  
"I dunno? Where the hell did all of this blood come from?" he asked curiously.  
"From you," Misato said, "You got shot,"  
She checked his shouldered, expecting to find a nasty bullet wound but found nothing. This really confused her.  
"What the hell's going on here?"

Shinji and the others made their way toward the tunnel that lead out of GeoFront by the outskirts of Tokyo-3. Since Nerv was a hot zone, they needed to get out of there and fast. They needed to get to some place remote and safe so they could regroup and try and figure out what was going on. There were too many unanswered questions that they needed have answered and therefore needed time to surmise what was happening.  
When they made it to the surface a good twenty minutes later, all three girls were seriously winded and in dire need to catch their breaths. Shinji seemed perfectly fine, well accustomed to running for long periods of time. Actually, that twenty minute run up that steeply inclined tunnel was something he would consider a warm-up than anything else.  
"Let's rest," Ritsuko gasped for air, really really wishing she had quit smoking.  
"All right," Shinji said, "But we shouldn't stay too long. If we stay in the same place too long, they'll be bound to find us. Also, keep in mind that we've still got those tracking devices to worry about,"  
"I-I'll take care of it," Ritsuko said, gasping for air, "All I need to do is find an electronics store,"  
"There's one nearby," Misato commented, breathing heavily.  
"Okay," he said, "Hey, I just noticed something, whatever happened to PenPen?" "I dropped it off at a shelter by the outskirts of Tokyo-3 before I tried to leave the city," Misato said, "Hopefully, if we survive this, I can go back and pick it up,"  
"True," Shinji said, "I guess after our rest, we can head for the electronics store to solve this little problem concerning those tracking devices. In the meanwhile, I'll be right back,"  
"W-where are you going?" Asuka asked, scared as if he was leaving them behind.  
Shinji ran toward a nearby tree, "I'm just go up to the top of this tree. I wanna get a good look at what kinda damage we're dealing with here. Unit-02 somehow self-destructed and I wanna see just how bad it is,"  
Everyone watched in shock as Shinji jumped up and landed on a branch around twenty feet high, proceeding to make his way up the tree, jumping up from one branch to another until he was at the top.  
At the top of the tree, Shinji got a good view of the damage. He was shocked at what he saw. Virtually all of Tokyo-3 was gone. The crater was so large that it stretched out almost all the way to where the sea was. Luckily, it was just stopped a short distance from it so the water from nearby sea wasn't flooding in to it. If that happened, water would be rushing down in to GeoFront and would eventually flood it completely over time. He noticed that at the bottom of the crater was the opening where he could GeoFront. "Damn, the explosion blew a hole all the way in to GeoFront," Shinji commented. It put things in to perspective. If Unit-02's self-destruction was enough to blow a decent-sized hole through the ground of Tokyo-3 and in to GeoFront, it made him wonder how much more powerful a N2 mine was to be able to blow up a massive gaping hole in the same fashion.  
"Man, so much damage," Shinji shook his head in rather disgust. However, he was glad there was a good chance no innocent lives were taken, or if so, very few. Tokyo-3 was very well designed to help protect its citizens by moving them underground. The buildings nearby the explosion were only office buildings and had been evacuated long ago so that the citizens could hide in shelters located in different parts of the city.  
He narrowed his eyes as he saw something sticking out of the ground by bottom of the crater. It was the Lance of Longinus. It seems like the Lance was indestructible, even if it had been in the hands of the exploding Unit-02.  
Looking more careful, he noticed a small pile of what looked like gray goo right by where the Lance was. He assumed that was what was left of the melted heat shield. There were no remains of the Angel, it having been incinerated in the blast.  
"Damn, this is so messed up," he commented, "What the heck am I gonna do now?"  
Shinji sighed as he made his way back down the tree. He needed to talk to the others and try and figure out a plan. He couldn't help but feel at least slightly relieved now that the Angel no more. That had been the most immediate priority and its destruction was of the utmost importance. Everything else, even though the result was something that made Shinji's life astronomically more complicated, was trivial. "Take the complications as they come along and deal with 'em one at a time," he told himself, wondering how long he could go by that motto. Once back on the ground, he walked up to the girls.  
"Is it bad?" Misato asked first.  
Shinji nodded, "Yeah,"  
There was a moment of silence.  
"A good portion of Tokyo-3 is gone, just gone," Shinji said with a sigh, "Man, it feels like everything that's gone wrong did go wrong,"  
"I can't believe Unit-02 was self-destructed remotely," Misato said, recalling what she had heard, "How was that possible? I saw Ritsuko make the appropriate changes to the program. I can vouch for her,"  
Shinji sat down on the curb to sidewalk, "I have no idea how that happened. I have no idea how many things happened. I have so many things I wanna know the answers to but there's no one that can answer them,"  
"Like what kinda questions?" Misato asked.  
"Why are the Angels attacking so frequently? Why were you and Ritsuko and I left unscathed after the Angel incinerated everything around us? Why didn't the Angel attack us after we surfaced with Unit-02?" he replied, "Why did Unit-02 self-destruct? How did it happen? Who did it?"  
"Not to mention questions like how the heck you seem perfectly fine and able to walk when all three of us saw your legs broken," Misato added, "Also, how you seemed to have gotten shot but not,"  
"Do you think it could be those dormant powers starting to surface?" Ritsuko asked.  
Shinji nodded, "I was thinking about that. I think that it might be just that. That's the best I can go on,"  
"Dormant powers?" Asuka wanted in on the conversation, "What are you talking about?"  
Shinji sighed, "It's a long story. I'll tell you that later,"  
He rubbed at his shoulder, "If it is my powers starting to show, then it seems like I now have some weird super fast healing ability. I have no idea how to control it or how it works. The problem is that it doesn't seem to prevent me from actually getting hurt. Luckily, it seems to hurt only for a second before my powers kick in and I instantly become healed. That could explain why I get these weird feelings like I got hurt but only for a brief moment. It makes me wonder if I had really gotten hurt in the first place,"  
"I saw you get shot," Misato said, "That blood on your shirt should be a good indication. You probably got shot, bled a little bit, and then suddenly healed back up just moments after you realized you had been shot. That's probably why you feel pain but only momentarily. You do get hurt, but it lasts and instant and becomes nothing more than a memory only a second or so afterwards," Shinji scratched the back of his head, "Well, that's probably very likely. Of course, I'm not going to actively let myself get shot again just to make sure that it really is true,"  
"It must be," Ritsuko commented, "Your legs were broken. You were probably unconscious just long enough that you healed up before you even woke up,"  
"I guess you have a point," he said, "I do remember momentarily blacking out because I basically ended up kneeing myself in the head when I landed,"  
Ritsuko scratched at her chin, "Your powers seems to be surfacing at a rapid rate. You seem to be healing instantly now instead of over time. It also doesn't seem like you can't get knocked out for long periods of time. That's probably why you woke up very shortly after you were knocked out after you got caught within Nerv,"  
Shinji nodded, "Y'know what? You're right. That must be the case,"  
"Well, I guess that solves one question," Misato said, "Even though that answer seems just out-of-this-world and unbelievable,"  
"Unfortunately, there're a dozen other questions that still needs answering," Shinji said, "Like why the heck Angels are attacking so frequently,"  
Ritsuko and Misato shrugged their shoulders.  
"You've got me there. I haven't a clue," Misato said.  
"Nor I," Ritsuko added.  
Shinji sighed, "That's probably one questions I'll probably never find out, much like why the most recent Angel didn't attack and just stayed there and seemed to just wait for me to kill it with Unit-02"  
"That brings us up to another questions. How and why the heck did Unit-02 self-destruct?" Misato asked.  
"I was sure I disabled that function," Ritsuko said, "Sure, it could be rewritten and brought back to work once again, but there's no one in Nerv that can do it. Maya is that only one that works with MAGI's programming, and, although she's a really programmer, she can not find and rewrite that code in such a short period of time,"  
Shinji scratched his head, "Considering no one was in command center when I got you guys, that left them only, what, a minute to rewrite the program after we left. So what the heck happened?"  
Everyone was silent, trying to figure that out.  
"Oh my god!" Shinji's eyes widened, "I know,"  
"What?" Ritsuko asked, very eager to hear Shinji's explanation.  
"MAGI did it," Shinji said, "MAGI rewrote the program,"  
"What?" Misato's eyes widened.  
"That's ludicrous!" Ritsuko said.  
Shinji shook his head, "No. It isn't. The problem is that you basically hafta take it as a given with what I'm saying. In my other world, something very similar to this happened but in reverse. Your other self tried to self-destruct Nerv but MAGI prevented it by somehow rewriting the program that would've done so. Remember what I said about MAGI, it works in favor of Nerv and not us. This is because it has your mother's personality and it chooses Gendo over us,"  
Ritsuko was deathly silent.  
"Let me get this straight, you're saying that MAGI did this?" Misato asked, very skeptic.  
Shinji nodded, "Yes. If you just trust me and believe that MAGI favors Nerv over us, then you'll realize that it all makes sense. No one was there to rewrite the program so you should assume that it was MAGI itself that did it,"  
"Do you know what you're saying?" Ritsuko asked, "You're basically saying that MAGI is sentient,"  
"It kinda is," Shinji said, "The problem was that the other version of you didn't realize this until it's too late. Luckily, Ranma was there when it happened and take care of things where it could've otherwise gotten worse,"  
Misato scratched her head, "I'm a bit confused here. You keep mentioning this person named Ranma. If he's so helpful, why don't we just wait around for him to show up and help us out? If this world moves along in the same general path as your world, then it should be just a matter of time before he shows up like he did for your world,"  
Shinji shook his head, "No. That's not possible. Actually, I've thought about that and gave it a consideration but it won't work that way. First off, even if that was possible, it would probably take too much time. Keep in mind that I'm racing the clock so time is of the essence. It also doesn't help that I have no idea how much time I have or when he would show up. However, that option is moot because he won't show up. That's because I was told that he somehow escaped the path of fate meaning a world's path and the course of events it's supposed to go through is set. If he shows up, it totally alters that world's path. The world's path is set without him showing up,"  
"Let me get this straight," Ritsuko said, "There exist only a single Ranma, in all of the universe and all of the worlds?"  
Shinji shook his head, "No. There are several of him running around, but its not because he was supposed to exist in those worlds. He exists in only one timeline, one world, that being the one he's from. That is why Ranma can go back in time and see himself, since he is basically revisiting his own world. If he leaves that world, he won't bump in to himself on another totally different world because, on that world, the path and course of events were set and he takes no part in those worlds. The problem is that when he does show up there, that path is basically thrown right out the window,"  
"What kinda guy is this Ranma?" Misato asked, "To me, it sounds like he's the rarest person to ever exist. Sounds kinda cool,"  
Shinji said, "Rarest person? I dunno, perhaps. But that's not the issue here. The point is is that we can't wait around for the Ranma of this world to show up like he did in my world because, much like my world, this world's path has it where he doesn't show up. I guess my world is the only world, through pure luck, that Ranma showed up in and helped out,"  
"If the fate of a world is set, then how come you're here?" Ritsuko asked curiously, "It's obvious you're change this world's fate. Does that mean you are very much like Ranma and able to change a world's path?"  
Shinji scratched his head, "Hm, I never thought of it that way. I think it might be explained because of my connection to Ranma. I was told that my fate was changed because of Ranma. Perhaps its branching out to other people like myself. I really dunno. That's the best guess I could come on this based on what I was told,"  
"And who told you all of this?" Misato asked.  
"You may think I'm crazy, but God told me this," Shinji gave a meek smile, "She told me this,"  
Misato smirked. That was cool. God was a 'She'. Therefore, God was female. Of course God was female. If she wasn't, chocolate wouldn't exist.  
"Anyway, we shouldn't even really talk about Ranma and all because he's just one of the problems that I hafta worry when I go back to my world," Shinji said, "The problem now is going about getting to my world. I can't go back until I get my hands on an EVA and have it take in an Angel's core. Like I said the other day, only God can kill God. Having it assume the core will make Unit-01 a god,"  
"Man, this is all just insane," Ritsuko sighed, "I know we've heard this before, but its just so unbelievable," "I never heard this stuff before," Asuka commented.  
"I'll tell you about it more later," Shinji said, "I promise,"  
"Okay," Asuka seemed content with that.  
"Any EVA would've done fine," Shinji sighed, "What sucks now is that Unit-02 had been destroyed and Unit-01 was reallocated to somewhere in Germany,"  
"Yeah, Ritsuko mentioned about that while we were waiting for you in the command center," Misato commented, "That leaves us with only Unit-00. The problem is that that before you showed up, it went berserk and is currently inoperable,"  
"What? You're kidding me, right?" Shinji said.  
Misato shook her head, "No. I'm sure you already know this, but that's why Rei is hurt, because-"  
Shinji pinched the bridge of his nose, "I know. I forgot. I forgot that only a few days had passed on this world since I got here, to Tokyo-3. In my world, by the time I fought this Angel, well over a month had passed. Damn, this sucks. This timeline of everything going on is throwing everything off. Because everything's happening so fast, that's why the positron rifle couldn't be use. That's why Unit-00 is still being repaired. That's why Rei is actually still in the hospital recovering. That's why Asuka was brought here a few weeks ahead of time. Everything. It would be so much easier if Unit-01 wasn't moved,"  
"We can always try and go to Germany," Asuka commented, "If this Unit-01 is in Germany, I can be of help,"  
"How?" Shinji asked, "This is Nerv we are dealing with. Nerv in Germany is most likely the same as Nerv over here. It still hafta deal with the problem and task of getting my hands on it. Besides, using Unit-01 is outta the question because after I get my hands on it, I'll only have five minutes to take in an Angel's core. Angels only attack Tokyo-3,"  
"Oh," Asuka said.  
Shinji smiled softly, "It's a nice gesture though,"  
"I guess all we can go by is getting Unit-00," Misato said, "Once the next Angel attacks, we go in and steal Unit-00 and use it to take in the core,"  
"Gee, that'll be easy," Shinji laughed, slightly delusional, "We just waltz on in to Nerv and steal Unit-00 right out from under their noses. I'm sure they won't up their security a hundred fold after the stunt we just pulled,"  
Misato gave a meek smile, "Sorry, I guess that is easier said than done,"  
"Does Unit-00 even have a mouth to take in a core?" Shinji asked.  
Ritsuko nodded, "Yes. It's hidden underneath the jaw restraints though. It needs to be removed before-hand. Unfortunately, it's a moot situation. Unit-00 is inoperable so it's useless to try and take it,"  
Shinji sighed, "How long will it be before it's operable?"  
Ritsuko said, "About a week or so. Actually, it'll be even longer since I'm no longer a part of Nerv watching over its repairs,"  
"Damn, it just gets worse and worse," he hung his head low, "Well, at least we don't have any Angel to worry about at the moment. The problem is that we don't know when the next one will show up,"  
"We've got company," Misato commented, pointing.  
Shinji looked toward where Misato was pointing and saw a small platoon of armed soldiers emerging from the tunnel entrance, heading in their general direction.  
He suddenly realized that Misato and Ritsuko still had those tracking devices on them that had been implanted. He had completely forgotten about that.  
"Great, just great," Shinji muttered, getting up to his feet, "This just adds even more problems to what I'm currently having to deal with,  
Bullets whizzed by him, missing him and the others. Instinctively, they ran toward a nearby alley to take cover.  
The soldiers positioned themselves a short distance away, their weapons trained toward the alleyway opening, opening fire.  
"Great! Just great!" Shinji said, "We're pinned down and I have nothing to throw," An alarm sounded through the empty streets of Tokyo-3. All four individuals recognized that alarm.  
It was another Angel attack.  
Shinji started laughing, delusional.  
"Oh joy! More fun!"  
Shinji poked a sharp point in his forearm. He winced in pain. However, when he pulled it out, he stared in awe as the heal instantly disappeared along with the pain. Once again, he was left with the odd feeling that he had never even been hurt in the first place.  
"What are you doing?" Asuka asked, concerned about Shinji.  
"Um, just testing something," he gave a meek smile.  
Shinji had managed to get incapacitate the platoon of soldiers with relative ease, him now finding them more a bother than anything else. Shortly afterward, they had gone to the nearby electronics store. The store was empty, it having been evacuated long before. Ritsuko was in the back of the store looking for the proper equipment to build what she considered an 'EMP bomb' that would disable the tracking devices. Misato was with her helping out.  
Shinji was by the front, on lookout in case more Nerv operatives came to capture them, Asuka keeping him company at the moment. Besides, it was a good time to explain everything to Asuka, she dying to know what was going on and exactly who he was.  
He went about poking himself with a sharp object as he waited, as if he were bored.  
"What are you 'testing'?" Asuka asked, wondering if Shinji was some kind of masochist.  
Shinji held his forearm forward for Asuka to inspect, "See? The wound healed,"  
"I don't get it," she scratched her head.  
"Several times, I got shot," he said, "The first time around, before you showed up in Tokyo-3, I got shot in the shoulder. It didn't heal right away. Next, I got shot in the leg, but surprisingly, it seemed to heal up probably a few minutes afterwards. After Unit-02 self-destructed, I got shot in the shoulder again but it healed up even faster, within seconds. That's why you see the blood on my shirt but, as you can see, I have no wounds,"  
"Okay, I still follow you," she said.  
"Just before, when we were pinned down in the alleyway, I got hit in my right arm," he said, "When I looked at my arm, I saw it actually heal right before my very eyes. That led me to believe that I heal really quickly, much quicker than before. I just poked myself and cut myself. The moment I pulled the object out, the cut disappeared and so did the pain. It seems like my dormant powers are starting to surface. My healing ability is instantaneous,"  
This led Shinji to wonder about Ranma. Ranma had mentioned that he used ki to protect himself. It made Shinji wonder if that was necessarily true. Perhaps Ranma also has some kind of super-fast healing ability that no one really noticed. This was because Ranma did look like he felt pain before he seemed to dismiss it and go about doing whatever he was doing.  
He thought about the time Ranma stuck a finger in his forearm. It hadn't healed up right away and Luna ended up healing him. Perhaps his assumption was wrong. If that was true, Ranma's wound would've instantly healed up the moment he pulled his finger right out of his forearm.  
But how could that be, Shinji thought. Ranma has the power of God so why didn't his wound heal instantly for him? Could it be because his powers were dormant much like mine? Perhaps he knew that sometime down the line, his powers would eventually surface and he would assume the personality of that God-version of himself from then. Does that mean over time, I'll eventually end up like that Ranma as well?  
Shinji shuddered at the thought. Yet more unanswered questions. Meanwhile, in the other side of the store, away from earshot, Misato and Ritsuko sounded worried as they talked as they looked for particular parts.  
"I'm worried about Shinji," Misato said, "I know what you mean," Ritsuko said, "Shinji's starting to turn more and more different from the person we knew. From my point of view, he seems be starting to turn in to the very person he's trying to beat,"  
"I know," Misato nodded, "Did you see how vicious he takes out those Nerv operatives nowadays? Frankly, I'm surprised he has yet to kill anyone,"  
"Shinji's getting really powerful," Ritsuko commented, "You know the saying, 'Absolute power corrupts absolutely'. I think Shinji's slowly being corrupted by these powers that are starting to surface. He already stopped having remorse toward the Nerv operatives he hurt constantly,"  
"I know, I know," Misato said, "Heck, he already stopped saying he was sorry when he takes out the guards. I remember I used to hear him constantly apologize to the guards, even if they were unconscious and such. Now, he's stopped doing that,"  
"Perhaps we're seeing too far in to things," Ritsuko commented, "Perhaps the stress is getting to him. He is under a lot of stress, afterall,"  
"I hope so," Misato said.  
Back on the other side of the store, Shinji was quiet. He had heard the whole conversation. He didn't know how he had heard that but he did.  
Could that be possible, he wondered to himself. Am I being corrupted? No, I can't be. I'm taking those guards out because I know what's going to happen to us if they get us, right? Right?  
Shinji sighed. Maybe he was being corrupted and didn't even realize it and was giving himself excuses.  
"Are you okay?" Asuka asked, a bit worried.  
Shinji gave a slight smile, "Yeah, I'm okay. I was just thinking about something,"  
Asuka said, "Um, you've still yet to explain everything to me. I think I deserve some form of explanation about what's going on,"  
Shinji smiled, "Yeah, you're right. I'll tell you,"  
He went about explaining his situation, explaining how he was from an alternate version of this world. When he finished giving an abridged version of it, Asuka seemed speechless.  
"I know," he smirked, "It's quite a bit to take in but that's basically my story in a nutshell. I've fought alongside God, and now I hafta fight that same God. If time wasn't of the essence, I would just wait for my own powers to surface before trying to take him out but it is so that's why I'm here to try and get my hands on an EVA, take in an Angel's core so it, too, assumes the same kind of properties as God and use it to fight him,"  
Asuka said, "T-this is just crazy. It's too crazy to be real,"  
"I know, that's how everyone sees it," he answered, "Heck, even I have problems believing it and I went through everything right alongside Ranma all the way until the time when he basically lost control of himself,"  
"If this Ranma person knew that he was going to become what he became, why didn't he just kill himself?" Asuka asked, trying to believing him.  
Shinji shrugged, "I really dunno. That's something I really wish I knew. The best explanation I could think of is that Ranma probably knew he couldn't die even if he tried to take his own life so he didn't bother trying it,"  
Ranma mentioned about him able to actually rip out his own heart, Shinji thought. For all I know, he probably tried but ended up coming right back to life.  
"Man, this is so complicated," Asuka commented.  
"Quite," Shinji smirked, Misato and Ritsuko walked up to them.  
"We're done," Ritsuko said, "The tracking devices have been destroyed,"  
"Done?" Shinji's eyes widened, "Already? What did you do?"  
Ritsuko pulled out a little device from her pocket and showed it to Shinji.  
He took it and looked at it. It looked to be the size of a soft ball and the very much the same shape.  
"This is that 'EMP bomb' you were talking about?" he asked, regarding the device curiously.  
Ritsuko nodded, "Yes. It took a bit to solder some of the wires and parts together but I managed to get it up and running,"  
"What does it do?" he asked.  
"Like I mentioned, it emits an electromagnetic pulse," she replied, "The pulse basically shorts out any nearby electrical devices, the implanted tracking devices being one of them,"  
"Wow, this thing shorts out electrical devices?" Shinji's eyes widened, "That's awesome. This thing can come in handy in the near future,"  
Ritsuko shook her head, "That's not possible. It can only be used once. That one you're holding in your hand no longer works since it shorted out after we used it to disable our tracking devices,"  
"Can you make more?" Shinji asked, "Maybe we can use this for something like disabling MAGI,"  
Ritsuko said, "That's not possible either. First off, there were only enough parts in here to make just one of them. Second, MAGI is partially organic so it wouldn't have all that much of an effect on it,"  
Shinji sighed, "Just when it seems like we might be able to turn the tide in our favor, reality makes us realize otherwise,"  
"What are we going to do about the Angel?" Misato asked, "There's that little problem to worry about,"  
Shinji sighed again, "Damn, I forgot about that,"  
He headed out of the electronics store and looked sea. Because the store was located at a higher location in Tokyo-3, he didn't need to climb up a tree or even hop to the top of a rooftop to get a good view.  
The three girls followed, looking out toward the sea as well.  
Explosions were occurring around the shoreline in the water as the military went about attacking the Angel with what little remaining support that they had, most of them having been destroy fighting previous Angels. "It seems like the pattern of which Angel attacks remain the same," Shinji said, a bit relieved, "This Angels an aquatic Angel so it's restricted to the sea. Also, it has no AT Field so it can be killed through conventional means. The problem is knowing exactly when the military will realize, in order to kill it, they need to blow up the core located inside its mouth,"  
Misato said, "Well, the military does seem like it's pretty useless against Angels, but we hafta have faith in it,"  
"I dunno about that," Shinji commented, "They've been fighting it for the past, what, hour, and they have still don't seem to realize that there are special ways of defeating Angels, that the core is the only way to truly defeat the Angels,"  
"Well, at least the Angel's restricted to the water so it can't get to Nerv since it's cut off from GeoFront," Misato commented.  
They watched and noticed the air crafts suddenly turn around and seemingly retreat.  
"Oh no!" the blood drained from Misato's face, "My god! They're gonna use an N2 mine!" She recognized the military procedure, to clear the area for when it exploded.  
Suddenly, a brilliant flash of light occurred, the nigh sky looking like day, its brilliance so powerful that it forced the group to shield their eyes.  
When the bright light disappeared, they took a look and saw a massive mushroom-like column of fire and smoke shooting up to the sky, shooting so high that it would part clouds had there been clouds in the first place.  
Shinji's jaw dropped.  
"Take cover inside the store!" Misato shouted toward them, "The shockwave's gonna reach is in a few seconds,"  
The group quickly rushed in to the store, Misato, Ritsuko, and Asuka running all the way to the back where there was a door that lead to a basement, most likely the storage area.  
Shinji stopped by the front where he tired to lower the front gate, which he had ripped open and upward earlier, in hopes of sealing up the store.  
Unfortunately, Shinji didn't act quickly enough and ended up getting hit by the shockwave as it reached the store a couple of seconds later.  
He was thrown bodily through the interior of the store, slamming in to an isle shelf where he fell to the floor, the shelf falling down on him, hitting him in the head and knocking him out.  
When the shockwave subsided, the group emerged from the basement where they saw Shinji lying in the middle of the store as he was slowly coming to, having regained consciousness only after a second or so.  
He rubbed his head, "Ow,"  
"A-are you okay?" Misato asked, kneeling by him.  
He stood up, "Yeah, I think so," "What did you try and do?" she asked.  
"I was trying to pull down the front gate," he said, "But I didn't have enough time,"  
"You didn't need to do that," she said, "We would've been fine if we just scrambled in to the basement and stayed there,"  
"I'll try and remember that the next time an N2 mine goes off," Shinji gave a meek smile, "I didn't realize how quickly it would reach us. Is everyone okay?"  
Everyone checked themselves and noticed that they were fine.  
Shinji looked around. The entire interior of the store was a total mess, everything blown off the shelves and on to the floor. "Oh man, I can't believe they set an N2 mine off again," Misato commented, "The map has to be redrawn every time one of things are used,"  
Shinji's eyes widened.  
"Oh no! I just realized something," he quickly ran out of the store, almost tripping on the debris scattered about.  
Misato, Ritsuko, and Asuka followed him outside again where they saw him staring toward the now subsiding cloud of smoke in the horizon. When they realized what he was looking at, they found themselves speechless.  
"Oh no," Shinji said, "That N2 mine connected the sea with the crater caused by Unit-02. The sea water is now rushing in from the sea in crater made by the N2 mine, in to the one made by Unit-02, and down the hole leading to GeoFront,"  
"What does that mean?" Ritsuko asked.  
Shinji pointed where the group caught sight of the Angel, unmoving, currently regenerating from the damage inflicted on it from the N2 mine, as it floated along the path of the water flooding in to the first crater. It looked a bit like a giant tadpole with giant teeth. Shinji remembered that Angel. It was the Angel that that defeated at sea in his world. He also knew it would only be a matter of time before that crater was filled up and the water would start flooding in to the next crater through the small point where they were the craters overlapped. The Angel would be able to reach Nerv once that happened.  
"Oh my god! The Angel can get from the sea and in to GeoFront and to Nerv," Ritsuko realized, "And there're no EVA's to fight the Angel off for when it finishes regenerating," Shinji started laughing hysterically.  
They were so beyond screwed there was no way he could not laugh.

He and the others were on their way back to the tunnel that would lead them back to Nerv. They were basically so screwed that there was really nothing they could do. Considering their situation, they only had one plan left, to somehow self-destruct Nerv and take Lilith along with it, preventing the Angel's inevitable attack once it was finished regenerating. "Do you think it'll work?" Misato asked.  
"No," Shinji said truthfully, "I think the plan's absolutely ridiculous and insane. The problem is that, considering our situation, there is no other plan we can go by,"  
Shinji skidded to a halt when he caught sight of a flipped over car, on its back due the N2 shockwave that had occurred. It was just a random car that had been parked in the street, the occupant having left it to take shelter rather than driving it to a designated garage like most of Tokyo-3's citizens.  
"This will make getting back to Nerv much easier," Shinji said.  
"What do you plan on doing?" Misato asked first.  
Shinji crouched by car and gripped the roof of the car, which was currently on the ground, "I'm gonna flip it back over. I saw a friend of mine hot wire a car so I figure we can use this car to drive down to Nerv instead of having to run there,"  
Ritsuko couldn't help but say, "I'm all for that idea,"  
Shinji tried to flip the car but found himself having trouble, the car a lot heavier than he expected. Perhaps it was because he was currently trying to flip a car back over on to its wheels while it was on its back. When he flipped Misato's car over, it had only been on its side.  
The girls watched Shinji as he strained to lift it, gritting his teeth.  
"At least now I know that if I'm having problems lifting this, there's no way I'm gonna be able to lift that weapon back home," Shinji muttered.  
"Um, I don't think you're going to be able to lift that," Misato commented, wondering if he really was going to do so. But then again, perhaps there was a chance that he might considering how he was strong enough to knock down those giant door to her and Ritsuko's holding cells the other day, when they had first been taken in to custody.  
Shinji tried lifting the car again, failing a second time, stopping to catch his breath. "Does he really think he could actually flip a car back over?" Asuka asked, skeptic. She knew Shinji was an incredible person, but to be able to flip a car using his bare hands was no small feat of strength.  
Misato said nothing, wondering the same thing. She was very curious as to whether or not he could.  
Shinji suddenly recalled the exercise Ippo had showed him, the clean and jerk.  
He took several deep breaths, mentally prepping himself for the left. After a few seconds, the muscles of his body tightened as he powered the weight of the car up to around chest level, stepping forward and crouching so that the roof of the upside-down car came to a rest on the front of his shoulders.  
Holding the car resting on his shoulders, he stood up, using his legs to lift the weight. When he was in a standing position, the car was tilted an angle, the weight much less a burden now.  
It only took a quick burst of strength for Shinji to flip the car over where it came to rest on its side. Taking a second or two to catch his breath, he finished the job by shoving the car over once again where it fell over, the right side up now.  
Shinji wiped the sweat form his brow.  
"That wasn't all that hard," he gave a meek smile. Actually, it was a lot harder than he thought. It made it even harder when he realized he had bitten off more than he could chew when he first tried it but couldn't turn back. Misato, Ritsuko, and Asuka had been watching him.  
Shinji walked over to the driver side of the car and tried to open the door. When he realized he couldn't, he punched right through the side window, glass shattering everywhere.  
He then went about emulating what he had seen Priss do with that McLaren F1 back on the other world. He busted open the steering column with a well placed open-palm strike around the bottom if it. He fumbled with a couple of the wires and pulled two of them loose, a red and a blue one. Touching the open ends together, the car came to life.  
Shinji's eyes widened. "Wow, it does work,"

Shinji stalled out the car twice on the way to Nerv, unused to changing gears on a standard car. It was embarrassing and seemed to negate whatever cool points he had gotten from the girls when they saw him flip a car and hotwire it.  
"Have you ever driven a car before?" Misato asked, smirking, "Do you want me to drive?"  
Misato and Ritsuko were sitting in the backseat while Asuka sat in the passenger side seat.  
"I've driven before, I even have a license," Shinji commented, "I'm just rusty. The only time I've driven was for when I got my license,"  
"Ooh, can I see your license?" Asuka asked, eager to see it.  
Shinji gave Asuka an odd look. After a moment, he shrugged and reached in to his pocket and pulled out his wallet which contained his license. He handed the wallet to her since he was currently too preoccupied driving to take the license out. Best to let Asuka do it herself since it was usually a real pain to get it out.  
Asuka looked at the license and giggled when she saw how funny Shinji's license picture looked. He had been blinking when his picture was taken so his eyes were closed, making it looked like he was sleeping.  
"I know, it's a bad picture," he commented, wondering why he let her see it.  
Asuka wasn't particularly paying attention to the picture but more to the identification statistics, like his height, eye color, date of birth, and so forth. Misato and Ritsuko looked at the wallet. They too laughed at how funny the picture looked.  
"I'm glad you guys are having fun at my expense," Shinji muttered, smirking a bit, "Considering our current situation, having something to laugh at is probably far from frequent,"  
Misato proceeded to look through Shinji's wallet, curious as to what he kept. She found a small wallet-sized group picture of Shinji and his friends. Her eyes widened when she saw her and Ritsuko and Asuka standing in that picture. "W-when did you take this picture?" Misato asked, "I don't remember standing around and doing a group picture. I don't recognize these people,"  
"That's because that's the other version of you," Shinji said, "The other version of Ritsuko and Asuka are in there as well. Also, you can see Rei as well. They're all from my world,"  
Ritsuko and Asuka looked at the picture. Their eyes widened when they saw people that looked exactly like themselves in that picture.  
Asuka glanced and noticed the image of her seemingly staring off toward a man with black hair done up in a pig-tail. Shinji was standing on the other side of the group.  
"Who's this guy I'm looking at?" Asuka asked, pointing to Ranma.  
"That's Ranma," Shinji smirked, "The other version of you seem to have a crush on him but absolutely refused to say it. I think it's a combination of pride and embarrassment,"  
"Why would I, I mean, she...like that guy?" Asuka asked, figuring she would actually like Shinji. Shinji shrugged, "I think it's because Ranma's a pretty cool guy. She hated him at first but he kinda grew on her. Besides, she's kinda complex and hard to figure out. Um, no offense, what with you and her being the same people and all,"  
"None taken," she said.  
Shinji was silent for a moment. He wondered why Asuka was acting all nice to him. The Asuka he knew would usually rip him a new one if he ever said something like that and argue against him. But then again, due to circumstances, it was probably the reason why she acted differently toward him.  
"Everyone in there looks happy," Misato commented.  
Shinji nodded, "Yeah. That was a group picture we took shortly after we came back and around five months before Ranma basically turned in to what he is now. We were very happy then," His visage saddened, "All of them but Ranma and I are all dead now. That picture you hold is the last and only picture I have of my past,"  
"It must mean a lot to you then," Misato commented.  
Shinji nodded, "Yeah. It's really important,"  
"What do you think will happen after all of this?" Misato asked, "You think you'll come out of this all right?"  
"Hopefully, things will return to normal again," he said, "Urd will resurrect them and they will most likely know nothing about what had happened just prior to their deaths. As to whether I'll be all right, I doubt it. After all I've been through, I know I'll never be the same person I was in that picture. That's why that picture's important to me, because it's my one and only picture of my past. When everything is put back to normal, it won't be quite the same anymore,"  
"Can we come with you back to your world?" Misato asked.  
Shinji said, "I never thought about that before. What, you don't want to be on this world? You don't even know what kinda world I live in now,"  
"Well, considering what we've been through, we're probably better off leaving this world," Misato commented.  
"Actually, she has a point," Ritsuko said.  
"I agree," Asuka added.  
"Um, do you guys realize what you're saying?" Shinji said, "We're talking about leaving this world forever and leaving everyone behind,"  
Misato looked toward Ritsuko and Asuka.  
She smirked, "And just what do we have here? None of us have family here. At least with going to a different to world, we can start over,"  
Shinji nodded, "You're right. Actually, now that I think about it, having you stay here is probably very dangerous. It's probably better off if you do come with me to my world. It'll probably created a lot of confusion what with there being two Misato, two Ritsuko, and two Asuka, but it's still better off than staying here,"  
"So you'll take us with you back home?" Misato asked.  
"Sure,"

new stuff 12/11

Shinji stopped the car by the exit of the tunnel that led to GeoFront.  
"Why're you stopping?" Misato asked.  
"It's better if we try and sneak in to Nerv from here on," Shinji commented, "If we try pulling up in a car, we'll be spotted for sure. Also, we would be sitting ducks if we get attacked while in the car. At least on foot, I'm much better off at attacking back,"  
"I guess you have a point," Misato said.  
They all stepped out of the car. To their surprise, there was a bit of debris by the exit. The girls watched as Shinji walked over and picked up the pieces and started pocketing them.  
"What are you doing?" Misato asked.  
"I took down two guards earlier," Shinji answered, "They're no longer there, but the debris from weapons I broke that belonged to them are still there. I'm just picking a few of the pieces up to use for throwing. I'm outta things to throw and those parts from the broken weapons will do just fine,"  
Ritsuko looked at Misato, "Man, Shinji's really resourceful. From what I've seen, he uses his surroundings and environment very effectively,"  
"Thanks," Shinji overheard the comment.  
Finished pocketing bits and pieces from the ground, he turned his attention toward Asuka.  
"Are you sure you wanna come along and not just wait?" he asked, "It's still not too late to turn around,"  
"Misato and Ritsuko are coming," she answered, "So why shouldn't I? I'm in this mess just as deep as them,"  
Shinji gave a sad face, "I know, and it's all because it's my fault I brought you in to it. However, Ritsuko needs to come along because only she can reprogram MAGI. Misato's coming along because, well, actually, I don't know why she's coming along,"  
"I'm there because it's personal," Misato smirked, checking her gun, "I just want to be there in the thick of things. I'm in this deep and wanna see this through instead of just running away and letting you and Ritsuko have all the fun,"  
"Then that's the same reason for me as well," Asuka said.  
Shinji was silent for a moment. He wondered if he should just tell her no and to just run away and meet up with them at some rendezvous point. Misato could take care of herself and might actually be able to help him out since she could handle a gun. With Asuka, she would just be a hindrance since she would basically be following them and presenting herself as an extra target for Nerv operatives to fire upon.  
He looked at her face and noticed how much she wanted to go with them. He knew why also. If they went to Nerv without her, it would basically feel like a form of abandonment toward her, something he knew Asuka hated. Asuka was the type of person that didn't want to be alone. Even though she gave off a sense of independency, Shinji knew it was just a front for a girl with a troubled past. Heck, that was how he was, what with him having such a troubled past and usually closing himself off from people so he wouldn't get hurt.  
"All right," Shinji said, "But please try and keep close,"  
"I will," she said with a smile.  
Jeez, I'm probably gonna regret my decision later, Shinji thought. Without Unit-02 around to pilot, she's just a regular girl. There was a very good chance she would panic.  
He sighed. He would worry about that when he came to that crossroad.  
"Let's get going,"  
Shinji and the others sneaked through Nerv, heading toward the command center.  
Misato felt very impatient, her hands twitching nervously as she held her gun close to her body, following closely behind Asuka. Sneaking around was something Misato wasn't used to. She would rather go around guns blazing but knew that she would not last more than a few minutes before she would be shot and killed.  
At the moment, Shinji was taking point and leading the ground in front while Ritsuko and Asuka followed him, Misato following in the rear. It took a good twenty minutes to get to their destination, Shinji forced to take down eleven guards along the way, Misato taking down two as well with well-  
aimed shots from her gun. Although it would only take around five minutes to get there if they trekked along at a normal pace, it took extra time to get to the command center because they had to stop and break each individual guards' weapons to prevent them from being of further threat, so no other guards could pick those weapons up and use them. They also had to take time to hide the guards, so they would not leave behind a trail indicating their presence. Because, who knew, there was a chance Nerv personnel weren't even aware that they had snuck back in.  
Once inside the command center, they were surprised to find it empty.  
"Where the heck is everyone?" Shinji asked.  
"You don't think-" Misato began.  
Shinji quickly left the command center and in to the restroom located nearby. Inside, he was shocked to see the command center personnel right where they left them, still tied up to the stalls.  
He laughed, "Jeez, I thought you guys would've escaped by now,"  
When he saw them, it made him think about something. If they were there the whole time, that meant Unit-02's self-destruction had no human intervention and was the sole responsibility of MAGI's actions. It also brought up a second question. Who sent those guards after them after they fell down in to GeoFront from the surface immediately after Unit-02 blew up? The same thing goes for topside. Who sent guards after them shortly after they escaped from GeoFront and had made it topside, when they took cover in that alleyway.  
"I made sure I knocked my dad out real well," Shinji commented, scratching his head, "I don't even need to check up on him in that medical room because I know he's still unconscious. It won't be for a whole day until he wakes back up. So who the heck's sending those guards out?"  
Shinji looked down at the tied up group.  
It was obvious they didn't send those guards out either. He noticed tears were streaming down Maya's face. She, like the others, had been tied up for over an hour and seeing Shinji back made her realize that their captor was still lingering around in Nerv. Also, none of them seemed to know what was going on. They remembered feeling the floors within Nerv shake on two occasion, one shortly after they were tied up and another shortly before Shinji showed back in there a second time. The only thing they could have guess was that two N2 mines had been set off topside.  
Shinji contemplated releasing the group and just telling them to run away. However, he chose against it. He didn't really trust them. He had trusted those guards not to shoot him when they said to come out with his hands up but they shot him anyway. "What do you want with us?" Maya, the female of the group, asked in a meek voice. "Sorry, but I'm not gonna tell you," he replied, "It's too complicated and it's moot whether or not you know,"  
He looked over toward Fuyutsuki and noticed the gray-haired old man staring at him with contempt in his eyes. It made Shinji feel a bit weird because he kind of knew Fuyutsuki, both from his own world and from when he first showed up on this world, shortly after he piloted this world's Unit-01 immediately after arrival.  
"What have you done with Ritsuko?" Maya asked.  
Shinji smirked as he realized that none of them knew what had occurred. They still thought she worked with Nerv. He could tell them basically anything. However, it was best that he tell them something to keep them from suspecting that Ritsuko was actually helping him out instead now.  
"Um, I killed her," Shinji said, trying to keep a straight face.  
Maya gasped, "Y-you murderer!"  
He gave meek smile. Maybe lying about killing Ritsuko was a bit too much. "Um, I was just kidding," he tried to pass it off as a joke, "Lighten up. Um, I tied her up in the other restroom,"  
"Oh," Maya seemed relieved.  
Shinji smiled slightly, believing that that was a good enough answer, that Maya had heard what she wanted to hear.  
He blushed when he noticed Maya's panties because of the way she was sitting while tied on the restroom floor. Nerv female personnel wore very short skirts for some odd reason Shinji didn't notice until now.  
He cleared his throat and said, "Um, well, I'll be going now,"  
"Wait," Shigeru called out.  
"Yes?" Shinji turned around.  
"I need to go to the bathroom," he answered, "I've been holding it in for the past hour,"  
He mentally played out the scuffle that would occur the moment his hands were free. Shinji, although roughly the same size as Shigeru, was still a child and a child could easily be beaten by an adult. Shinji had only managed to make everyone do as they were told because of the weapon he had been carrying at the time. It was a very persuasive tool to use to manipulate people in to doing what they were told.  
Shinji contemplated freeing Shigeru so he could answer nature's call.  
What should I do in a situation like this, Shinji thought. It's bad if a person has to hold it in.  
He decided to free Shigeru and let him answer nature's call in one of the few empty stalls. After he was done, he would be tied back up again.  
"All right, I'll free you," Shinji said, kneeling down and proceeding to untie the shoelaces that were binding Shigeru's wrists together to the stall.  
The moment Shigeru's hands were free, he dove and Shinji, shoulder ramming the young man right in the stomach, slamming him up against the wall. This surprised Shinji because he didn't expect Shigeru, a generally laid-back guy from what he remember, to do something like that.  
When Shigeru tried to punch him with all his might and knock him out, Shinji grabbed his shirt collar and lifted him up by one hand and shoved him toward the side, slamming him in to the wall next to him. This knocked the wind out of Shigeru and left him disoriented.  
"What do you think you're doing?" Shinji snapped, "I letcha go so you can go to the bathroom and you do this. Fine, be like that,"  
Shinji dropped the man to his feet and grabbed one of Shigeru's arms, twisting it hard which forced the man to wince in pain as he suddenly fell down to his knees. Cranking the arm even more, Shinji brought the man down on to the restroom floor so that he was laying on his stomach, his arm locked in a straight position and cranked backwards so that it pointed upwards toward the ceiling, Shinji's other arm on the man's shoulder blade and pinning him in that awkward position.  
He contemplated what to do as he held the man in that position for several moments. The arm and shoulder lock was so perfectly executed and administered on Shigeru that the man was unable to struggle. Makoto, Maya, and Fuyutsuki stared with wide eyes as the young man seemed to be able to totally control the fully grown man, already forgetting that they had seen Shinji pick him up with one arm a second ago.  
Shinji decided it was best to tie the man back up. If he needed to go to the bathroom, then he could go do it in his own pants. He twisted the man's wrist slightly and manipulated him back to his feet and made him walk over to where the stall was, forcing him back down to the floor where Shinji went about securing the man with the shoelace he had removed a second ago.  
As he was about to leave the restroom, he noticed a small key that lay on the floor by where he had Makoto pinned. He bent down and picked it up, looking at it.  
"Hm, I wonder what this's for,"

A bullet whizzed by Shinji's head as he entered the command center.  
"Jeez! What the heck was that?" his eyes were wide.  
He looked toward the side where he saw a mark on the wall where the bullet had ricocheted off of. When he looked forward, he noticed the smoking barrel of the gun Misato was holding and suddenly realized Misato had shot that round as she stood right in the center of the giant room, ducked behind a large console.  
"Sorry," Misato said, breathing a sigh of relief.  
Shinji was still visibly bothered from having come so close to having his head blown off, "W-why'd you do that?"  
"I'm sorry," Misato said, "I kinda jumped the gun there. I thought you were a guard,"  
Shinji pointed toward the bullet hole, "Look at the height you were aiming. Why are you trying to take head shots? They'll die if they get hit in the head. Why are you trying to kill the guards?"  
"Hey, I realized it was you at the last second and purposely missed," Misato said, "Keep in mind that we are currently in the command center of Nerv where Nerv is after us and they won't hesitate to shoot to kill. It's a very stressful situation here,"  
Besides, she had to worry about Asuka's and Ritsuko's well-being. Asuka and Ritsuko were currently within the console that was MAGI. Ritsuko needed to get in side of the console where the main 'brain' of MAGI was located so she could reprogram it to allowed for Nerv to self-destruct.  
Shinji entered the room and said, "I don't think Nerv don't seem to be aware of us being here,"  
"Why, what makes you say that?" Misato asked.  
"Fuyutsuki and the others are still tied up in the restroom," Shinji said, "If that's the case, then no one came down here and don't even realize what had happened. If they weren't there, then the Nerv would be on the lookout for us,"  
"Wait, if they're still there, then who sent those guards after us-" Misato began.  
Shinji interrupted, "I have no idea. Once again, yet more questions unanswered,"  
Misato sighed, "I really hate this. I hate not knowing what the heck is going on,"  
He smirked, "Welcome to my world. I haven't a clue what's been going on shortly after I got here. Anyway, how's Ritsuko coming along?"  
"Why dontcha as her yourself?" Misato asked, "She and Asuka are working on reprogramming MAGI again," "A-Asuka?" Shinji asked.  
"No, just Ritsuko," Misato said, "Asuka is basically keeping her company. Hopefully, Ritsuko can get past that part about MAGI favoring Nerv. Because if she doesn't then all that we're doing will be for nothing,"  
Shinji nodded, "You've got a point. But then again, it won't be all that hopeless if she doesn't. If we hafta self-destruct Nerv, lots of people are gonna die if we don't get this place evacuated. That occurred to me when I saw Fuyutsuki and the others still tied up in the restroom,"  
Misato shrugged, "Unfortunately, that's something we are gonna haft live with. Keep in mind that the deaths of a few hundred people mean nothing when compared to the Angels succeeding,"  
The muscles around Shinji's jaw tightened, "I know, but I don't wanna think of it as that. There's gotta be some other way around,"  
"Well, you're the guy that seems to come up with all the ideas, maybe you can think of an alternative," Misato said, "I ran outta ideas somewhere around the time when I got hit in the head with the butt of that rifle a few days ago. I'm just going with the flow and just following your lead,"  
"Following my lead?" Shinji said, "What lead? I'm basically stumbling along as I try to make heads or tails of all the chaos that's occurring around us,"  
"You're sure doing it much better than any of us," Misato smirked, "That's for sure. You seem to have a talent for problem solving. Didn't you say you majored in Engineering Science?"  
Shinji nodded, "Yeah, why do you ask?"  
"That could explain it," Misato smiled, "Engineering usually require too problem-solving skills. Perhaps it's the engineering aspect of you that's starting to show as you're presented these problems,"  
Shinji shrugged, "I really dunno about that,"  
Hm, maybe it's because I'm constantly around Ranma and watching him as he is forced to problem solve very difficult situations like that, Shinji thought. Maybe it's rubbing off on me. But then again, Ranma's never had trouble solving things like I am. Everything seems to just get worse and worse for me. If Ranma was in my shoes, everything would've been all fixed up by now.  
"Why dontcha go check up on Ritsuko and see how she's doing?" Misato asked, "Maybe you might be able to help her out. Heck, for all we know, if you were here that time, you might've remembered about MAGI favoring Nerv and picked up on it and told Ritsuko. Ritsuko might've been able to do something to compensate and we wouldn't be in this situation now,"  
"S-so this is all my fault?" Shinji pointed to himself, "It's my fault that I wasn't here?"  
Misato laughed, "No. Not at all. It was just a comment. No need to take it so literally,"  
"Oh," Shinji said.  
He decided to walk over to the large console with a front hatch opened by the front of the command center. He peeked inside where he saw Ritsuko leaning against an interior wall within the console as she typed rapidly on a tiny laptop computer, Asuka sitting right next to her. Where Ritsuko got that laptop computer, Shinji had no idea and didn't bother to strain his brain wondering why. He also didn't bother to wonder why neither of them came out from that opening to see what was going on when Misato fired her gun accidentally.  
"How goes everything?" he asked.  
"Fine," Ritsuko continued to look at the screen. "Ah, you're back," Asuka said happily as she crawled toward Shinji.  
Shinji stood up and back away from the opening as Asuka crawled out, Shinji offering her his hand.  
Asuka blushed slightly as she took his hand and got up to her feet.  
"How goes everything?" Shinji repeated his question.  
"I'm not too sure," Asuka said, "But I think it's going along fine. Ritsuko seems to know what she's doing,"  
"How long will it take her to circumnavigate our problem with the MAGI favoring Nerv and not letting us do want we want it to do?" he asked.  
Asuka smile slightly. It was rather nice talking to Shinji. Although he looked young, he talked like a grown-up, very differently from the way kids in her class spoke.  
She said, "Ritsuko estimated that it would take around twenty hours to do so. This doesn't include the time she needs to rest. She hasn't slept in quite some time and is really tired. She'll probably fall asleep at the helm for a few hours before she resumes once again after she wakes up,"  
Shinji realized something as he reached in to his pocket and pulled out a key.  
He peeked his head in to the opening and said, "Ritsuko, I found something that might be of interest to you,"  
"What is it?" she didn't bother to look, still typing on her laptop.  
"I found a key on Shigeru," he said, "I think it's the key that he carries with him that can help turn on and off MAGI's Input/Output system,"  
Ritsuko's eyes widened as she heard that. She quickly placed down her laptop and scrawled toward the opening, "Can I see it?"  
Shinji handed the key over.  
Ritsuko smiled, "Wow, you're right. This is great. It'll help out greatly. With this, it saves me the time I'd be wasting getting MAGi to allow me to input commands. Since MAGI is now aware of us and what we tried doing, it's cut me off from being able input commands, making my job all the more difficult,"  
"How much time do you think it'll save you?" he asked, not wanting to sound demanding. He wanted this done as soon as possible afterall.  
"It'll probably save me a good hour," Ritsuko said.  
"So it'll take you around nineteen hours instead of twenty hours to get our plan to work?" Shinji asked, not really knowing what to say.  
Ritsuko nodded before her head disappeared back in through the opening in the console.  
Shinji said, "If it's gonna take nineteen hours to make this plan work, I don't think we'll have the time. It's only a matter of time before the Angel gets in to GeoFront through the opening caused by Unit-02's self-destruction. Do you have any idea how long it'll be for the Angel to get in here?"  
"Around two hours," Ritsuko answered, "I did a quick calculation and it seems to be just under two hours.  
"What?" Shinji's eyes widened.  
"That's just my estimate, it might be a little bit earlier than that," she said.  
The blood drained from Shinji's face.  
He sighed, "Well, if the Angel's gonna be upon us in around two hours, then it's useless trying carry out a plan that'll take nineteen hours,"  
"It doesn't hurt to try," Ritsuko said logically, "Keep in mind that with no EVA to battle the Angel, this is our only option,"  
"But you said the Angel's going to be here in GeoFront in two hours," Shinji commented, "That's not enough time,"  
"Hopefully, you can distract it until I'm done," Ritsuko said.  
"For seventeen hours? By myself?" Shinji gasped, "An army couldn't distract it for more than an hour and you expected me to do that for seventeen hours by myself? That's not possible!"  
Ritsuko said, "Do you have any other ideas or plans?"  
Shinji sighed, "No, none,"  
Ritsuko's head popped back out of the opening. She gave Shinji a slight smile, as if she knew she could depend on him even in impossible situations. She didn't want to count her chickens before they hatched, but Shinji seemed to have continuously handled one impossible situation right after another. Heck, the mere fact that Shinji managed to save their lives after finding out they had one minute before Unit-02 was something that couldn't be dismissed.  
"Hopefully, Shinji, you'll think of something,"  
Shinji and Asuka rode an elevator together down toward Central Dogma.  
Them being alone made the elevator seem a bit smaller than it really was, at least to Asuka that is. The awkwardness atmosphere of the ride made it seem like it was agonizingly slow for Asuka as well.  
"Do you think Misato and Ritsuko will be all right?" Asuka asked after a minute of silence.  
Shinji nodded, "Yeah. Misato's actually really good with a gun and can take care of herself while Ritsuko goes about trying to reprogram MAGI for a second time,"  
"Are you sure you don't mind my coming with you?" she asked.  
Shinji shrugged, "No. Actually, it's probably better. If you stayed in the command center, Misato will hafta worry about you as well as Ritsuko. At least this way, Ritsuko'll be the only one she'll hafta cover,"  
"Are you saying I'm some kinda burden?" Asuka narrowed her eyes.  
Shinji held up his hands defensively, "N-no. I don't mean it like that,"  
Asuka gave a slight smile, "I understand,"  
"Man, I wonder if what we're doing is even feasible," Shinji commented.  
"What, you mean going down to Central Dogma and trying to figure out a way to blow up that Lilith Angel I saw from there instead of through MAGI?" Asuka gave a slight smile, "I really don't know. It seems like quite a long shot. Also, we have no idea what to do after we get there,"  
"I guess we can try and figure it out when we get there," Shinji gave a shy smile.  
There was another moment of awkward silence, at least from Asuka's point of view. Shinji was perfectly comfortable being around her and felt totally at ease.  
"Can you tell a little bit about the world you live in?" she asked nervously.  
He said, "Whatcha like to know?"  
"Is it very different from this world?" she asked, "This world is very messed up, what with there being Angels around attacking it,"  
Shinji smirked, "That world went through that already. Although it's not quite this world, you can think of it as this world after this world has defeated all the Angels,"  
"Do you think this world's gonna be like your world after all of this is done and over with?" Asuka asked.  
He shrugged, "I really dunno. I was told that this world ends up with a horrible fate after all of the Angels were finally defeated, had Ranma not showed up and done what he had done,"  
"Well, this world probably won't end up like however that world would've ended up, now that you're here," Asuka said, "I'm sure you've done quite a lot to change the flow of this world's path,"  
Shinji gave a meek smile, "Oh, I definitely changed this world's path. That's for sure. The problem is that I have no idea if it's for the worse or for the better. I'm a bit skeptic and think it's for the worse because of our current situation. We are far off worse now than how it was on my world at around this time,"  
"I guess we'll never know," Asuka said.  
"I guess," he shrugged.  
"Do you think we will be able to adjust to that world?" she asked, referring to her, Misato, and Ritsuko.  
Shinji nodded, "Yeah. Like I said, it's much like this world. It's a bit more technologically advanced, all thanks to Ritsuko. Before you even ask, Ritsuko used her knowledge of MAGI to advance that world's computer industry around ten-  
fold. Also, not that I care to find out first-hand, Ranma and Ryoga live on that world so if anything bad were to fall upon it, they'll be there to help out, provided we get through this all right and everything is restored,"  
"And so will you," Asuka added, "Y-you'll be there to help out,"  
Shinji blushed, "Um, I guess, but compared to Ranma and Ryoga, I doubt I'll be of any help,"  
"You shouldn't think like that," Asuka commented.  
"I guess you have a point," he smiled.  
"Um, so...back on your world..." she blushed, pausing for moment, "D-do you have a girlfriend?"  
Shinji nearly pulled a muscle in his neck when he suddenly turned his head toward her, his eyes wide.  
"W-what?" he asked. He remembered reading about that kind of question before. If a girl asked that question, it usually meant that she had some particular interest in the guy she was asking that to. He assumed she thought he was an okay guy but never believed that she would ever show any interest in him.  
"Um, er," he staggered.  
"Um, I was just curious," she said softly, wishing she didn't ask that. She barely knew him and had shouldn'tve asked such a personal question.  
Shinji visage softened, "Actually, I did,"  
"You do?" Asuka found herself suddenly sad.  
"Yeah," he said, reaching in to his pocket and pulling out the group picture again, pointing toward Emiko, "You see that girl there? That's Emiko. We love each other,"  
"Oh," she said softly.  
"She died," he said sadly, "But after all of this is done and over with, we'll be back together,"  
"Y-you must really love her," Asuka commented.  
Shinji nodded, putting the picture away, "Yes, I do,"  
Asuka was silent, wondering what to say next, "Um, so nothing became of us from your world?"  
"No," Shinji smiled, "We're friends but that's it. As you could tell from the picture, the other version of you likes someone else,"  
He contemplated whether or not he should tell her about how, on a different world, he and her actually got together and had children. Afterall, he met one of his and Asuka's descendents when he was looking for Ranma and found out Jun, a friend of his, was his grand daughter. It was kind of freaky and interesting finding something like that out.  
After a while, he chose against it, figuring it was best to leave it unsaid. He didn't want to get her hopes up for anything. As flattering as it was that she seemed to have feelings for him, much more than the Asuka he was used to that usually found him generally annoying, he believed having her knows something like that would just make things more complicated.  
That's kinda weird, Shinji thought. It's as if girls aren't interested in a guy until after he's attached. What gives? It's as if girls don't have any interest in a particular guy until after he has a girlfriend.  
Those were one of life's odd mysteries, kind of like the greatest and most beautiful and nicest girl a guy could ever meet was usually his best friend's girlfriend. There were many other questions as well. For instance, if PenPen was a warm water penguin, why the heck did he live in a fridge?  
Shinji shook his head. He had enough questions to worry about concerning this world and what he was going to do. What was the use of plaguing himself wondering about the answers to questions about life in general.  
He was broken out of his reverie when the elevator jolted to a stop.  
Asuka lost her footing and almost fell to the floor had Shinji not grabbed her arm and righted her.  
"You okay?" he asked.  
"Y-yeah," she was flushed.  
The elevator door opened to reveal a dimly-lit massive walkway that was a few hundred feet wide and few hundred feet high, stretching forward so far that they could not see the other side. This was the same corridor Unit-02 had walked down. Heck, just to the left of their elevator was a giant door that led to the elevator used for Unit-02 to get down there.  
The hairs on the back of Asuka's neck stood on end. This walkway looked a lot more scary when viewing it from outside the safety of Unit-02's cockpit.  
"Don't worry," Shinji said in a soft voice, "You'll be fine. I won't let anything happen to you,"  
That seemed to rid Asuka of her anxiety, "Um, okay,"  
Shinji held his hand out, "Here, hold my hand,"  
Asuka looked at his hand for a second before she placed hers in his.  
He blushed slightly as he felt her small hand in his hand. It was soft and warm and slightly clammy. It also surprised him how small her hands were. It also surprised him that he was holding her hand. He couldn't believe he didn't have any problem offering his hand to hold. He used to be very nervous about how one would go about holding a girl's hand or offering one's hand to be held. "Then again, considering the circumstances..." he said to himself.  
"Huh?" Asuka looked at him.  
"Nevermind,"  
Together, the two headed down the walkway.

"What the heck?" Shinji muttered, "Why's that giant door closed?"  
Shinji and Asuka were on the other end of the walkway, it having taken a good ten minutes to traverse. It surprised them because it seemed much shorter when in Unit-02.  
"I don't understand why this door's closed," he scratched his head, "Ritsuko opened remotely from the command center the first time around. Who could've closed it then?"  
Shinji walked over and tapped the large door located to the right of the giant one. The door they were in front of was for humans to pass through. The giant door was for EVA's to pass through. Both of them were closed.  
"Ah, it must be that Lorenz guy that's doing it," Shinji realized it, "He must be working behind the scenes. He must've sent those soldiers after us, he must've somehow manipulated the army in to actually using an N2 mine. He wants the Angel to come in contact with Lilith since it'll cause the Third Impact,"  
"What are you talking about?" Asuka asked.  
"There's a guy named Keel Lorenz," Shinji said, "Think of his as some kinda ultimate bad-guy. Anyway, there are certain ways to cause Third Impact. There's the Constructive Third Impact which occurs when an Angel comes in contact with Lilith. On my world, my father tried to have Rei, whom is part Angel, come in contact with Lilith. She betrayed him in the end,"  
"R-Rei's an Angel?" Asuka gasped, "Where the heck did this come from?"  
She had only briefly met Rei shortly after she came to Nerv. She could not believe that girl was an Angel.  
"She's not a true Angel," Shinji said, "Nerv is full of secrets. Lots of people are in the dark about a lot of things that's going on here. Actually, I'm the only true person here that knows everything about what's going on. There's stuff that even my father doesn't know what's going on. Anyway, Rei's part Angel and part human. The human aspect of her is what makes her look human. The Angel aspect of her is why she has red eyes and very pale skin and possess an AT Field,"  
"She has an AT Field?"  
Shinji nodded, "Yeah, but it's different. The one you see are exterior AT Fields. She possesses an interior one. That's why she's kinda, um, emotionless. That's because she has an AT Field over her emotions which prevents her from feeling human emotions. In a sense, her AT Field protects her heart, not her body," "Whoa," Asuka said.  
"Anyway, getting back to the subject, having it where Rei or an Angel comes in contact with Lilith causes the Constructive Third Impact," Shinji said, "That's what Seele wants. The thing is is that there are two forms of Constructive Third Impact, the caused by the Angel and the one caused by Rei. The one caused by the Angel is basically unknown. The one caused by Rei is preferred. As to why, no one knows. It think it's something to do with she becoming God and taking humans up to the plan of God with her. If the Angels causes it, no one really knows what would happen but it's still preferred over the Destructive Third Impact,"  
"What's the Destructive Third Impact?" she asked.  
"That's when the Angel comes in contact not with Lilith, but with Adam," Shinji said, "You know the extent about what happened about Second Impact right?"  
"Yes, it's where there was a big explosion in Antarctica that melted the ice," she said.  
Shinji nodded, "Yeah, but there's actually more to it. Most of the public thinks it's some kinda meteor that struck Antarctica and Second Impact was labeled after that. Of course, it kinda makes sense since First Impact was considered the meteor that struck the planet millions of years and killed off the dinosaurs,"  
"Thanks for the history lesson," Asuka smirked, "But I think I know that,"  
Shinji smirked, "Actually, there's more to it that you believe. Second Impact occurred from the energy released from when human's somehow converted Adam, the first Angel, in to embryo form,"  
"Really?" Asuka's eyes widened, "I never knew that,"  
"I know, you were never told this because it was based on a need-to-know basis," Shinji said, "And knowing about that was something very few people need to know. The point I'm getting as is that the Angels are showing up to retrieve Adam. If they come in contact, that's how the Destructive Third Impact will occur. It that happens, everything will get wiped out on this world and we will cease to exist,"  
Asuka gasped.  
"Of course, we are trying to prevent the Angels from reaching either Adam or Lilith and causing Third Impact, be it the Destructive or Constructive one," Shinji said.  
"Where's this Adam Angel?" Asuka asked curiously.  
"Not here," Shinji smirked.  
"Then why is Tokyo-3 being attacked?" she asked, "If they're trying to retrieve Adam, then why aren't they attacking wherever Adam is?" "Adam's presence and location on this word was somehow masked," Shinji said, "As to how it was hidden from the Angel's knowledge, no one knows. Because EVA's are derived from Adam, Angels were mistakening the EVAs for Adam and coming after the EVAs," "So if they're here to retrieve Adam, then why are they attacking the EVAs?" she asked, "You'd think they would just come around and try and pick Adam up,"  
Shinji shrugged, "I have no idea. I'm not an Angel and have no idea why they do that. If they did, it would've been a lot easier on my world since they wouldn't be trying to make scrap heap of us when we fought against them. Heh, in a sense, it would kinda feel like this world, what with the way the Angels seem to just stand there and let me beat it. I beat two Angels with no problem. All they did was stand there as if they were there for other reasons,"  
Asuka said, "That is kind of weird. I wonder why that Angel didn't attack us shortly before Unit-02 self-destructed. I would've been nice if the Angel didn't attack me while I was piloting like the way it didn't attack you when you were piloting,"  
Shinji shrugged, "I have no idea. That's probably a question I'll never figure out. Anyway, back to the subject, I have a sneaking feeling that it's all because of this Keel Lorenz guy that we seem to be encountering all these prob-"  
Shinji suddenly stopped talking, deep in thought.  
"That last comment you made," he said, "That got me thinking about something. That's very very very strange now that I think about it. When I first went out in Unit-01 to defeat the Third Angel, it didn't attack me,"  
"I know, I was in the cockpit with you," Asuka commented.  
Shinji shook his head, "I mean the first Angel that attacked Tokyo-3. The one I fought was the Third Angel. That's cause the First Angel is Adam and the Second Angel is Lilith,"  
"Ah," Asuka got the picture, "I thought you were referring to the sequence of the Angels that attacked Tokyo-3,"  
"Fine, I guess I'll refer to sequence of Angels that attacked Tokyo-3 to prevent confusion," Shinji said, "Anyway, when I fought against the first Angel, that being the first one that attacked Tokyo-3, it did nothing. It never attacked me,"  
"Okay," Asuka listened intently.  
Shinji scratched his chin, "Now that I think of it, I even remember the Angel picking me up when I purposely made Unit-01 trip over its own feet. I did that because I didn't want to make people suspicious that I had already piloted Unit-  
01 before on a different world since it was my first outing with Unit-01 on this world,"  
Asuka asked, "What, was it trying to help you or something?"  
"I dunno," Shinji said, "I defeated it before I could find out and dismissed that notion. Fast forwarding a few days, the it seemed as if the third Angel helped me out a second time around,"  
"The one we just recently defeated?" Asuka asked, "What do you mean?"  
"When I was in a jam and pinned down by police officers by a dumpster for unrelated reasons, the Angel actually blew the area up," Shinji said, "When the smoke cleared out, we were unscathed. I specifically remember thinking about how I was in trouble and needed help to get out of that fix right before that happened. For all I know, the Angel might've shot there to help me out,"  
"W-whoa, are you saying that the Angels are trying to help you?" Asuka's eyes widened.  
Shinji was skeptic but he nodded, "I dunno but there might be a chance. What's even more funny is that I recall, for every Angel attack, I thought about the next incoming Angel attack and, shortly afterwards, the Angel showed up,"  
Asuka did a double-take, "Wait, you mean to tell me that you might be the one that's causing all these Angel attacks, that you're somehow summoning them?"  
"I-I dunno," he said, "It's all just a guess,"  
Asuka said, "Wait a minute, now that I think about it, I remember you making a comment about our current Angel showing up moments before it showed up. Maybe you're right,"  
Shinji's eyes widened, "Wow, if that's the case, maybe the Angels can actually help us out,"  
"W-what? Take sides with the Angels?" Asuka gasped in shock, "That's insane!"  
Shinji tried to calm the young girl down, "It's only a suggestion. There's no telling that they would. The thing is is that if they do, it'll make things a lot more easier,"  
Asuka was silent.  
"However, rather than depend on that being the case, we still need a contingency plan," Shinji said.  
"You mean blow up, Lilith?" Asuka asked.  
Shinji nodded.  
He looked toward the door and rapped a finger against the cold metallic surface. It didn't even vibrate, the door too large and heavy. He wasn't surprised since the door looked like a square version of a bank vault door and looked to weigh several tons.  
Shinji kicked at it a few times hard to try and knock it inward. It didn't so much as budge. "Damn, how the heck are we gonna be able to get through this thing?" Shinji asked, scratching his head. Asuka jerked a thumb over he back, "Let's head back to the command center and ask Ritsuko to open it from there. Also, while we're there, we can tell her about what we might've discovered, that the Angels might actually be here for different reasons, it being you,"  
Shinji gave a meek look, "We dunno if it's really me that's causing them to show up. It's just a stipulation,"  
Asuka giggled, "I know. But we'll find out soon enough,"  
"I guess," he shrugged, "However, rather than go back, I'm gonna try and make sure I can't get through this door before we head back,"  
"What do you plan on doing?" Asuka asked.  
"I'm gonna give it my hardest punch," Shinji said, "Unfortunately, for me to do that, I need to meditate. Just step back for a minute so I can concentrate,"  
"Um, okay," she obliged.  
She stepped slightly off toward the side and watched as he approached the door, stopping within punching distance from it and closed his eyes. He then started taking deep breaths, concentrating at gathering ki. Little did Shinji know that he couldn't gather ki anymore but it seemed like the meditating served more as mental preparation for what he was about to do instead of gathering ki.  
Asuka watched silently, wondering what Shinji was going to do. He was full of surprises and she was eager to see what other tricks he had up his sleeves.  
After a good minutes elapsed, Shinji suddenly opened his eyes and shouted out what sounded like a battle cry and executed an open-palm strike right on the center of the door. He stepped forward with his left foot with such force that his foot became partially imbedded in to the floor as he brought his right arm forward, palm open and facing the door.  
The force of the impact was so intense that the door shuddered and shook violently. Unfortunately, it seemed to withstand the force of the blow as it remained in place. The only difference was that there was an embedded palm-print of Shinji's hand in the middle of the door.  
"My god!" Asuka gasped, "W-what kind of attack was that?"  
Shinji scratched his head, embarrassed, "An attack too weak to knock the door down,"  
"I felt the shockwave from when your hit to door," Asuka commented, "I can't believe it's possible to hit something so hard. Oh man, you even left a palm-  
print on it. And you even left an imbedded foot print from when he stomped your feet,"  
"And unfortunately, my best is still not good enough," he sighed, "Looks like we'll hafta head back and get Ritsuko's help,"  
He extended his hand for Asuka to take, knowing that she would feel every bit as anxious on the trek back to the elevator as she did from there.  
"Let's get go back," he said.  
Asuka took his hand.  
Together, they headed back to the elevator.

Shinji and Asuka entered the command center, but not before Shinji made it loudly obvious that it they were entering for fear of being shot at again.  
"Um, how goes everything?" Shinji asked, walking up to Misato. She looked on edge but seemed perfectly fine, "Looks like no one has come here since we left,"  
"We're fine," she answered, "You guys were only gone for around twenty minutes. It's kinda killing me just waiting around and all, what with some much crap going on around us. The suspense is killing me,"  
Shinji said, "I know. It's very stressful,"  
"How'd your trip to Central Dogma go?" Misato asked, "Did you find out of a way we can get rid of Lilith to prevent Angels from causing Third Impact?"  
Shinji shook his head, "No. The doors were closed and we couldn't get in there,"  
Ritsuko's head popped out from the console she had been tucked in all this time, "What? But I opened them remotely before. I never closed them from here,"  
"I dunno," Shinji shrugged, "But I have a funny feeling that it's Lorenz that's doing it,"  
"Lorenz, that guy that you mentioned about that's head of Seele?" Misato asked, "Why would he do something like that?"  
"I dunno. It's just a guess," he said, "For all we know, it might have some automatic shutting mechanism that executes after a certain time it had been opened and I'm overreacting,"  
Ritsuko shook her head and said, "No. It has nothing like that,"  
"Then I have no idea why it's closed," Shinji shrugged, "I assume it's that guy Lorenz that did it. I remember Ranma mentioning to me that he and Ryoga fought Lorenz down in there so he's probably down there right now,"  
"That still doesn't explain why he would close it," Misato commented.  
"He probably did so to stop me from getting there and perhaps figuring out a way to destroy Lilith instead of needing MAGI to do it for us," Shinji said, "Anyway, that's kinda besides the point. There's some interesting things that was brought to our attention as Asuka and I were talking,"  
"Oh?" Misato and Ritsuko regarding him intently.  
"It's really far-fetched and downright unbelievable," he said, "You guys might wanna sit down or get comfortable for when you hear this,"  
"Oh, I've gotta hear this," Ritsuko climbed out from the console and leaning against it, very curious as to what Shinji had to say.  
"Same here. Same here," Misato said, leaning against that same console, still vigilant for guards trying to storm the command center.  
Shinji cleared his throat.  
"I think I'm summoning Angels without realizing it," "They think I'm crazy," Shinji commented as he and Asuka rode the elevator back down toward Central Dogma, "That's very surprising considering how they don't consider me crazy for saying that I'm from another world and I hafta fight God and such,"  
Asuka said, "They don't think you're crazy. They just have trouble swallowing what you've told them. It's too bad we can test to find out if your theory is true, what with us being short on time and needing to try and figure out a contingency plan. We can just go and assume that that will work,"  
"I know," Shinji said.  
When the elevator door opened up to reveal that expansive walkway in front of them, he held his hand toward her. "Just curious, do you want me holding your hand as we head down there?" Shinji asked, "I don't want you feeling all weird and all. It's just that heading down this walkway does feel rather creepy and I figure you might be scared. I'm doing that so you'll feel a bit safer,"  
"Um, I-I don't mind," she said, blushing slightly. She felt a bit bad as she realize he held her hand because he felt like he needed to, not because he wanted to. Then again, she shouldn't be surprised. He had flat-out told her that he was in love with this Emiko person.  
Together, the two headed back down the walkway.  
"Now that Ritsuko opened the door remotely, what do you think you're going to do after we get in there?" Asuka asked.  
Shinji shrugged, "I have no idea. I figure I'll try and figure it out after I'm there,"  
Asuka smirked, "You seem to have a rather unique way of thinking, to take everything in stride and worry about something once you absolutely have to. Most people tend to worry and think of things in advance before they do anything,"  
Shinji chuckled, "Yeah, I know. But ever since all of this happened, I came to realize that if I did do that, I'dve burned out long ago. Complications just keep piling on and on on top of me. All I could do is worry about the top-most and more immediate problem first before moving on to others. If I worry about everything at once, I wouldn't be able to do anything since I'll be so stressed out,"  
"That way of thinking seems to work for you," she smiled warmly.  
"Thanks," Shinji said, "I guess it's because I'm always around Ranma and it's rubbing off on me. He thinks much like that,"  
The two of them reached the door before long. The smaller of the two doors was open and the two of them stepped through. On the other side, the couldn't help but be amazed as the size of Central Dogma. It looked gigantic from their vantage point. The massive size of Unit-02 had made the chamber seem small.  
The chamber stretched forward so far in either direction that they couldn't even see the walls due to the fact that it was dimly lit. The only light that there was to the chamber emanated from the spot lights trained on the giant white Angel that was Lilith as she seemed to be suspended in mid-air in the middle of the chamber over what kind of looked like a sea of LCL, crucified on a red cross.  
Shinji's eyes widened when he noticed Lilith.  
"Oh man," he said. He noticed how Lilith started to assume the form of a giant human severed at mid-thigh. This was different from what she looked like before, a rounded and basically fluffy version of a humanoid form.  
"What?" Asuka asked.  
"She's regenerating," he said, "I forgot about that. That's because now that the Lance of Longinus is no longer impaled on her chest, she's regenerating. She's starting to regenerate in to her original form,"  
"What form is that?" Asuka asked.  
Shinji shrugged, "I have no idea and I don't care to find out. For all we know, if we wait too long, she might come back to life and start moving about. Who knows what that could mean,"  
Asuka gulped.  
The two of them continued forward toward Lilith. As they got closer and closer, she seemed to get larger and larger.  
"I've been meaning to ask you before," Asuka asked, pointing, "What's that liquid below Lilith?"  
"That's her blood," he answered, "That's the LCL fluid used in the entry plug,"  
"R-really?" she felt sick. She was breathing blood when she was in Unit-02? That was gross.  
Shinji nodded, "Yeah. That's why you see all that liquid below her. It's kinda like a huge in-ground pool below her that collect the blood that drips from her waist since she was severed at the waste.  
"How did Nerv get it?" she asked, "And what is she exactly?"  
"No one knows how Nerv got her," he said, "Nerv was in possession of her before Second Impact. She's the Second Angel, the true mother of to the human race. I know, it contradicts religion about Adam and Eve and Eve being the mother of the human race. Lilith was the second being created by God, even before Eve,"  
"Okay," Asuka listened intently.  
"Before Eve, Lilith somehow shamed herself in front of God's presences and was banished before Adam knew about her," Shinji continued, pointing, "If you noticed the purple mask she wears, that's the mask she must wear in shame as well as being banished. She was banished here, to Earth. In a sense, she's the very first Angel, the Zeroth Angel because she was here before Adam showed up. Eve was created by God to replace her. Banished to this world, Lilith gave birth to the human race,"  
He couldn't help but feel sorry for Lilith as he continued on.  
"It must be really horrible for her because after she gave birth to the human race, they forgot about her and view Eve as their so-called mother," Shinji said, "This was because of the shame she carried on her and the way she looks. Humans didn't want to consider themselves born from Lilith because they consider her ugly and didn't want to be associated with her and refused to believe that they were born from her even though they were. Over time, it was forgotten that she was the true Mother,"  
"That's horrible," Asuka said, also feeling sad toward Lilith.  
"Having forgotten who she was, humans, the same race she gave birth to, somehow captured her," Shinji said, "That's why you see her crucified right here. What makes it even more tragic is that GeoFront is actually where the human race was originally born. GeoFront is the egg from Lilith. Moving on, Adam somehow found this out about what has been done to Lilith and came to Earth to rescue her. The problem is that the human race was waiting for him. When he appeared here, the human race captured him and imprisoned him as well, in the form of an embryo. The Second Impact was the energy released from when he was converted in to that form. The energy was from Adam's dying attempt to stop the humans from imprisoning him. Human ended up imprisoning, but at the cost of Antarctica melting and causing massive human casualties,"  
"God, I never knew it was like that," Asuka commented, "It's so deep how everything seems to be,"  
Shinji nodded, "Yeah. Where we stand now, Adam got imprisoned trying to save Lilith from the human race that she gave birth to. The Angels we are fighting off I think are born from Adam and Eve, and they here to retrieve their 'Father' and Lilith, to which humans are also trying to prevent and are killing off. After that happens, humans seem intent on merging with Lilith to ascend to Heaven, where Lilith was originally from before she was banished,"  
"T-the human race...is horrible," Asuka commented.  
He suddenly realized something, "Oh my god! Now I get it!"  
"Get what?" Asuka was startled.  
"I've always wondered why Ranma always came back to life as an Angel," Shinji said, "Now it makes sense. He knows all about what I said and is ashamed to be human. Heck, Rei knows about this so that's probably why, when she became God, she brought him back to life as an Angel as well, because she didn't want Ranma to come back as a human. When we saved him a second time around, after had become God and been reborn walking around the Earth, he could've asked Urd to resurrect him as a human but he chooses to be resurrected as an Angel instead. Him having an AT Field has nothing to do with it. He's ashamed to be human. That's why he doesn't come back in human form,"  
"I don't follow you," Asuka was lost.  
Shinji waved a dismissive hand, "Nevermind. I was just thinking aloud. It just that I think I figured out an aspect about Ranma I could never figure out. Him not coming back as a human could be because he knows about what the human race has done and he is ashamed to be a part of that race,"  
Asuka was silent. She couldn't help but feel like she understood where Ranma was coming from. If all that Shinji had told was true, she couldn't help but feel rather shameful as well.  
"If the Angels managed to retrieve Adam, the Third Impact will occur," Shinji said, "That's basically Adam's wrath toward the humans for what they have done. What was even more sad, is that we are about to destroy Lilith to prevent the Angels from reaching her,"  
Asuka was silent.  
Suddenly, they heard a loud clank from behind them as the giant door was closed. Turning around, they glanced toward the entrance to the chamber where they saw a figure.  
"Your tales are very amusing," came a voice from the figure.  
Shinji squinted, trying to get a clear view of the figure as he approached Shinji and Asuka. When he was close enough, Shinji was able to discern the man's features.  
The man looked like an elderly man wearing a visor-like device. Although he looked rather old, Shinji could sense an aura of power to him.  
"Let me guess. You're Lorenz," Shinji commented, recognizing the man from the description he had heard of him from Ranma a long time ago.  
"That's correct," the mans said, "You're going to do no such thing as destroying Lilith. She is my ticket to a higher plane," Shinji narrowed his eyes, remembering what Ranma and Ryoga had mentioned of the man, that he was part machine and incredibly powerful because of those modifications. "There's a change in plans," Shinji replied, fighting back his nervousness, "You're not gonna to going to this so-called higher plane. No Third Impact is gonna occur, not while I'm around,"  
"You're not going to stop me from achieving my goals!" the man said, sneering, "You've been a thorn in my and Seele's side ever since you showed up at Nerv. It's about time I get rid of you,"  
Shinji knew, without a shadow of a doubt, he was going to have a battle on his hands. He motioned for Asuka to takes several steps away for safety's sake. He didn't want her getting caught up in the battle.  
He got in to a battle stance, a loose stance that resembled a mix of a boxing and martial arts stance.  
The man dashed forward with lightning speed, catching Shinji by surprise.  
"Shinji!" Asuka shouted in shock.  
Shinji suddenly found himself being lifted off his feet and up in to the air. It only took a moment form him to realize that his opponent had ran forward and grabbed him by his neck. In a moment of panic at suddenly finding his air passage completely block off because of Lorenz's death-gripe, Shinji brought his legs up and wrapped them around the man's extended arm, leaning back so that he found himself looking upward. The movement made Lorenz's grip on Shinji's neck loosen, allowing Shinji to slip right out from the man's grip.  
With his legs firmly locked around the man's extended arm, Shinji grabbed the man's wrist and arched his back as tightly as possible in an attempt to hyper extend and perhaps dislocate the man's arm at the elbow.  
Before he could fully implement this improvised armbar, Shinji was thrown through the air by Lorenz.  
Immediately after slamming on his back the ground hard, he flipped upward where he landed back on his feet, the wind slightly knocked out of him from the initial impact.  
He looked up to look toward where Lorenz had been when the threw him, Shinji was surprised to see the man not there. All he could see was Asuka, still safe and sound.  
He saw a white light as he was punched on the right side of his head. The impact was so intense he ended tumbling on the ground several times, sliding to a halt a short distance from the giant door where he and Asuka had entered the chamber.  
This surprised him when he realized where he was. They had walked over the length of a football field toward Lilith before they came to a stop to talk. He had been thrown once and punched once and he had been somehow covered that distance flying through the air.  
Shinji shook the cobwebs from his head. However, as he did, his disorientation seemed to suddenly disappear, his powers working to its full effect. Feeling perfectly fine, Shinji was ready to take more a beating and give one in return. Although he got hurt being thrown and punched initially, the pain was no longer felt, having disappeared immediately after he felt it.  
He looked back up just as he saw Lorenz dash toward him and punch toward his face.  
Instinctively, Shinji swayed backwards, a common evasive boxing technique, Lorenz's fist missing hitting his head. When he swayed back forward, he executed a quickly one-two combination, both punches hitting Lorenz in the face.  
Unfortunately for Shinji, he realized too late that the punches didn't seem to faze the man as Lorenz punched him again, hitting him right in the face. The impact was intense as Shinji's head snapped backwards where the back of his head ended up getting hitting against the door, bouncing back forward where he was punched a second time with similar results.  
"Leave him alone!" Asuka shouted toward Lorenz's back.  
"I'll kill you later," Lorenz pause to tell Asuka.  
The threat seemed to trigger something within Shinji as he suddenly found himself enraged at the thought of Lorenz killing Asuka. Also, the split second Lorenz paused in his attacks to say something to Asuka was just the time he needed for his powers to kick in and allow him to recover and regain his bearings and realize what was going on.  
Just as Lorenz was going to hit him for a third time, Shinji saw the incoming punch and reacted to it. He ducked at the last moment, Lorenz's punch sailing over him. He stepped forward and stepped under the man's arm, pivoting around so that as he stood back up, facing Lorenz's back.  
As Lorenz realized Shinji was behind him and was about to turn around, Shinji executed the most powerful open-palm strike on the back of the man's neck, killing the man instantly, hitting him with such force that a loud snap could be heard echoing in the massive chamber, drowning out the subsiding echoing from when the back of Shinji's head hit the door.  
Lorenz's body propelled forward so violently that he slammed against the door, the door hit with such force that it broke right off of its massive hinges.  
The door ended up falling outward from the chamber where Lorenz's dead body ended up lying motionless on top of that door.  
A few silent minutes passed as Shinji stood in a battle stance, his gaze intent on Lorenz's motionless body, ready to react to anything now. He would not let him get close to Asuka and was ready to viciously to fight a second round against that man. Shinji would not let Asuka be killed, not while he was still able to stand up and fight.  
"S-Shinji," Asuka called his back, Shinji not hearing her.  
After a couple more minutes, Shinji relaxed as he started to take in his surroundings. Lorenz wasn't moving and his chest didn't seem to rise and fall.  
Shinji nurtured the thought that perhaps Lorenz was dead. However, he remained cautious. Perhaps he was just faking in.  
"Shinji," Asuka called to him again, still unheard.  
Shinji crept forward toward where Lorenz was as he remain motionless on the fallen door. Once he was close enough, his body relaxed as he realized that Lorenz was no more. His body was on its stomach but his head looking upward, his neck broken completely, the head turned a complete hundred and eighty degrees from its original angle. Oil and blood was flowing from Lorenz, a hybrid of a human and machine, forming around the door, dripping down off it and on to the floor the door was laying on.  
Shinji assume a relaxed position, and breathed a sigh of relief.  
"Shinji," Shinji finally heard Asuka's voice.  
He turned around to face Asuka. She had this very concerned and relieved look on her face.  
"Are you okay?" she asked.  
Shinji smiled.  
He looked down at himself and noticed that, despite all those vicious blows that would've easily killed any normal person a hundred times over, he had come out of that fight unscathed.  
"I'm fine,"

new stuff 12/12

Shinji regarded Lorenz for a moment, feeling very bad about himself as everything started to dawn on him.  
"God, I killed someone," he said in a soft voice.  
Asuka was silent.  
"I really wish it didn't hafta come to that," he sighed.  
"You were defending yourself," Asuka said, "It's all right. It was all done in self-defense,"  
"I guess you're right," he sighed again, steeling himself.  
He turned toward Asuka.  
"C'mon, let's get back to the reason why we're here," Shinji said, "We need to figure out a way of destroying Lilith,"  
Asuka paused, "D-do we have to?"  
Shinji regarded her for a moment. It didn't take a genius to understand why she was hesitant. After hearing what Lilith had gone through, it was only natural for people to feel sympathetic toward her. It was quite a tragedy. Her being destroyed didn't help any.  
"It's better this way," Shinji said, "If she's destroyed, the Angel won't be able to cause Third Impact. You gotta put things in perspective. If you don't destroy her, the entire human race is in jeopardy,"  
"But how do we know this is the right choice?" she asked.  
"We don't," Shinji shrugged, "But at the moment, choosing this option is better than our other option. We are talking about the whole human race here. Ritsuko has the right kinda mentality. I remember her mentioning how we should make choices based on priority. If her death means saving the human race, then so be it,"  
Asuka was silent for several long moments, "How do you feel about this? Do you think it's better this way around?"  
Shinji didn't say anything.  
"Actually," he said softly, "If I really think about it, knowing what I know, I'm kinda in favor of Lilith over the human race. We can be a really cruel race. However, purely from an objective standpoint, it's better that Lilith be destroyed,"  
Asuka nodded after a moment, "I guess you're right. The death of one Angel over the destruction of an entire race...I guess that puts things in perspective,"  
Shinji shrugged, "Of course, the problem with that choice is that who are we to decide which choice outweighs another? For all I know, Lilith could be much more important than our race but we, being humans, refuse to believe it simply out of our own arrogance,"  
The two of them looked up toward Lilith in quiet contemplation for several minutes.  
"So what do we do now?" Asuka asked.  
He felt bad about what he had to say but he needed to say it.  
"What else? We try and destroy her,"

Shinji and Asuka entered the command center once again, Shinji taking care to make it evident that it was them and not soldiers or guards. Entering the room, they saw several motionless bodies by the inside of the entrance.  
"Glad to see you're back," Misato smiled warmly.  
"What happened here?" Shinji asked, looking toward the bodies off to the side from the entrance.  
She said, "A guard came in here to most likely say something to one of the command personnel. I took him down. Over the course of the next ten minutes, several more of them showed up looking for the previous one,"  
"Y-you didn't kill them, did you?" Shinji gulped, noticing the puddles of blood.  
"Unfortunately, I had to," she said, "After I took them out, I dragged them in to the command center and away from the entrance so no one else could see them from down the corridor and alert the others.  
Shinji sighed, "I guess it can't be helped. But still..."  
"How did everything go?" Misato asked, wanting to change the subject.  
Shinji and Asuka looked like a mix of emotions.  
"We bumped in to that Lorenz person," Asuka said.  
Ritsuko's head popped out from the opening in the console, very interested in the conversation she was overhearing.  
"You did? What happened?" she asked.  
Shinji smirked, "It's nice to see you again, too,"  
Ritsuko smiled, "Sorry. Glad to see that you're back. What happened?"  
"What else? He defeated him," Asuka said proudly, as if she had taken main role in Lorenz's defeat.  
Shinji gestured toward Asuka, "Yeah, what she said,"  
He went about giving a brief explanation about the encounter that eventually lead to Lorenz's death.  
"I-I feel bad that I had to kill," Shinji hung his head, "I really wish it didn't hafta come to that,"  
"It was in self-defense," Ritsuko commented.  
He nodded, "Yeah. I know. But still,"  
"Actually, from what little I know about Lorenz, he isn't even human," Ritsuko commented, "Sure, you had to kill, but it didn't mean you killed a human or anything. You shouldn't feel so bad,"  
"I guess you have point," he said, "Also, now that I think about it, Ranma, at least the one I know, never killed anyone before and is proud of it even thought he knowingly killed Lorenz. Perhaps he didn't consider Lorenz human either for him to consider himself a killer,"  
"There you go," Ritsuko said, "That's probably a real good reason,"  
Shinji smiled, feeling a bit better. He knew it wouldn't last long because he didn't know if that was a really good reason or just an excuse he was giving himself.  
"So, after you got rid of Lorenz, what did you do afterwards?" Misato asked curiously, "Did you see if Lilith could be damaged,"  
Shinji nodded, "Yeah. I threw one of the grenades I had in my pocket at her...and something weird happened,"  
He couldn't help but wonder how quickly the fight against Lorenz would've went had he brought two grenades and used one of them on that man. "What happened?" Ritsuko asked.  
"An AT Field appeared right in front of her," he answered, "The grenade just bounced off if and landed right back in front of us. I kicked it away before it blew up. Anyway, it seems like she has an AT Field so conventional methods won't work,"  
"Wait, are you saying that self-destructing Nerv will not destroy her?" Ritsuko asked, surprised she had never considered that scenario.  
Shinji shrugged, "There might be a chance,"  
"What are we going to do now?" Misato asked, "We're in trouble now,"  
"Um, we've been in trouble for a long time," Shinji gave a meek smile, "We still have that Angel to worry about. It's probably gonna to be here in an hour and it'll be, what, eighteen hours until Ritsuko's gotten past MAGI's programming,"  
Misato sighed, "That's true. We seem to be in more of a fix now,"  
"Actually, not quite," Shinji said, smiling, "There's still a chance. I have a plan, even though it's probably impossible,"  
"What?"  
"I can go topside and try and retrieve the Lance of Longinus," Shinji said, "Keep in mind that it was still left intact after Unit-02 self-destructed,"  
Misato was confused, "What about the Lance?"  
"The Lance has the ability to negate an AT Field," Shinji said, "We might be able to get the Lance and use it to do just that. Perhaps then we can destroy Lilith. Unfortunately, there are two major problems. First, it's about the size of a football field and most likely weights hundreds of thousands of pounds and the only thing we could use to wield it is Unit-00, which is inoperable. Second, even if it does negate Lilith's AT Field which allows us the ability to destroy her, that still means I hafta figure out a way to keep the Angel distracted for around eighteen hours, something that not even the army using everything they had could do,"  
Everyone was silent for a moment.  
"There's always that theory that the Angels might be here for you," Misato commented.  
"Actually, that's all we've got to go by,"

Shinji and Asuka paused by the entrance to the tunnel that led to the surface.  
"What're you stopping for?" Asuka asked.  
He jerked his thumb toward the parked car he had abandoned shortly before they snuck in to Nerv.  
"Who'dve thought that I'd be using this thing again?" he grinned.  
He climbed in to the driver side, Asuka climbing in to the passenger side. It was every bit as easy to start the car back up again as the first time around, Shinji not needing to break open the steering column again to hotwire it.  
"Are you sure you wanna come along?" Shinji asked as he popped the car in to first gear, not after accidentally stalling it once and needing to restart it.  
Asuka nodded, "Yeah,"  
Driving up the tunnel to the surface, Shinji made a quick turn once he was top side, driving in the direction of the heart of Tokyo-3.  
"Do you think everything will turn out fine?" Asuka asked, wanting to make more conversation.  
Shinji shrugged, "I dunno. I hope so,"  
"What do you plan on doing if your theory is correct?" she asked.  
"Kick myself several times for not having realized that long ago," he said, "That's definitely the first thing I would do. After that, I have no real idea. Even if I'm able to summon Angels, that doesn't help us one bit. The problem is that I have no idea if Angels will be willing to help,"  
"But didn't you say that the Angel helped you out when you were pinned down by a dumpster? I remember you saying that," Asuka said.  
Shinji nodded, "Hopefully, the are willing to help out. Maybe I can somehow 'will' them in to abandoning their quest to get Lilith, which they are currently mistakening for Adam,"  
"I hope it works," Asuka commented.  
"So do I,"

"Hey, Misato, check this out," Ritsuko called out.  
Misato turned her attention toward Ritsuko as she emerged from the console.  
"What is it?" she asked curiously, still keeping vigil over the command center entrance.  
"This is very incredible," Ritsuko said, "I was taking a quick break from the programming and decided to check in to Nerv's records of Shinji,"  
"Yeah, what about it?" Misato asked, "What, is it really interesting?"  
Ritsuko nodded, "Extremely,"  
"Fine, spill it," Misato said.  
"Remember when we were first taken in to custody from your apartment?" Ritsuki began, "Shinji's blood was taken after he was shot. Nerv's records indicate that Shinji's blood is not of human origin," "It was determined? But doesn't it usually take a week for results to be found?" Misato asked.  
Ritsuko shrugged, "That's right. But I guess the situation forced Nerv determine the result much quicker than expected. People are really resourceful when forced to do so,"  
"What's so surprising about that result?" Misato asked, "It just means it confirms what we expect, that he's not human,"  
"That's not the point actually," Ritsuko continued, "The records indicated that Shinji bled to death while being transported to Nerv after we were all taken in to custody,"  
Misato's eyes widened, "W-what? Are you telling me that Shinji's d-dead? Like some kind of walking dead guy?"  
Ritsuko shook her head, "It was never determined, what with no more tests having been run on him since he escaped shortly after waking up. The point is is that it was determined died while being transported. All medical measures to resuscitate him resulted in failure. He died, that's the point I'm getting at. What's shocking was that it was determined that, a few days later, he suddenly came back to life. He was placed in a holding cell because Nerv didn't know what to do,"  
"What?" Misato's eyes widened.  
"Shinji died and came back to life," Ritsuko said, "The reports say that his bullet wounds healed around a day after he had been shot, while he was presumed dead. The point is is that he seems to be immortal and can't be killed, at least through conventional means,"  
"What's going on here?" Misato was confused, "What does that mean?"  
"I really don't know. I really don't know,"

Shinji made the car come to a skidding halt right near the edge of first crater, the one caused by Unit-02's self-destruction. Unfortunately, he didn't realize that a car skidded for so far even when going a moderate speed and ended up slamming in to the dirt of the slightly raised ring that circled the crater.  
"Are you okay?" Shinji asked, turning toward Asuka, concerned.  
Asuka checked herself and nodded, "Yeah. I fine. I was wearing my seat belt,"  
She turned toward him and regarded him for a moment. Her eyes widened as she saw the cut on Shinji's head heal right before her very eyes. The front windshield was cracked from when Shinji's head had hit in to it and cut him up. This was because, in a rush to get to the heart of Tokyo-3, he had forgotten to put on his seat belt.  
"A-are you okay?" she asked, concern in her voice, "You're cut...wait...you're not cut anymore," Shinji touched his forehead and brought looked at his hand where he saw blood from when the wound had been open.  
"I forgot to put on my seat belt," he commented with a meek smile.  
"You hafta be careful," Asuka said, "You could've been killed,"  
Shinji smiled, "Yeah, but I wasn't,"  
Asuka became deathly silent. Shinji was taking his powers for granted. He was starting to depend on them and expect them to help him out. It was as if his powers was slowly erasing the notion of death to him.  
"Don't depend on your powers," Asuka said.  
"Why not? They're really useful," he said, "I can do things that regular humans can't do,"  
Asuka said softly, "That humans can't do? When did you start considering yourself not human?"  
Shinji said nothing. "It seems like you're becoming dependent on your powers," she said, "You did fine without it, without expecting them to help you out in a pinch,"  
"But that's because I wasn't aware of my powers," he commented, "Now that I'm a bit more aware, I'm taking advantage of it,"  
"Um, I guess you're right," she commented, "You probably won't be the same after all this is done and over with. You're already different from when I first met you,"  
Shinji was silent. There was nothing he could say to a comment like that. That was because he already start to know why. He already knew he was becoming corrupted by those powers.  
However, he didn't really care anymore.  
They would not last long. If he got out of this all right, he would eventually have to fight Ranma. That was inevitable. Shinji and Ranma would be engaging in what would most likely a world-  
destroying battle.  
In the end, one or both of them will die.  
A tear fell from Shinji's eye as he was sure he already knew the answer. No matter what, he would be one of the people dying. Whether or not Ranma died along with him is unknown.  
"A-are you okay?" Asuka asked.  
"I'm fine.

Shinji and Asuka looked down the edge of the crater toward the center where they could see the opening that lead to GeoFront. The crater was dry, the other crater joined to this one still filling up with sea water. It would only be a matter of time before it started overflowing in to this crater.  
Shinji's gaze rested on the Lance of Longinus that was on the ground near the base of the crater, right by the pile of goo that used to be Unit-02.  
"Wait here," Shinji said, "Don't go anywhere. I'll be right back,"  
"Where are you going?" she asked.  
"I'm gonna go check on the Lance," he said, "I just wanna test something out,"  
Shinji proceeded to climb down the side of the crater. The ground was loose and he found himself having trouble getting down. Luckily for him, even if he slipped and ended up tumbling down the entire crater, he wouldn't really get hurt, thanks to those powers of his.  
"Man, I really am getting corrupted by my powers," Shinji commented to himself. He heard a noise coming from behind him and looked over his shoulders. When he saw Asuka trying to make her way down the side of the crater as well, the color drained from his face.  
"No! Don't!" he called out to her, turning toward her.  
The loose gravel made it hard to get a good footing to run back up the side of the crater. "I don't want to wait up there," Asuka continued to slowly make her way toward him. Unfortunately as she was about to reach him, the loose gravel gave out from under her, causing her to lose her balance and trip over her own feet. Although she had a good sense of balance, the loose gravel was too much. Just as she was about to tumble forward, Shinji leapt forward where he grabbed her, stopping her from falling all the way down the crater. They ended up sliding down a good portion of the edge of the crater, coming to a halt near the bottom. Luckily, Shinji had managed to maintain his balance when that happened, neither of them, Asuka most importantly, getting hurt.  
"You okay?" he asked.  
Asuka was silent for a moment as she tried to gather her bearings.  
She nodded after a moment, "I'm okay, thanks to you,"  
Shinji smirked. He couldn't help but feel that she remind him of Asuka from his own world when she was around Ranma. It was as if Asuka's mind was always pre-occupied and it made her clumsy or somewhat clumsy.  
"I wanted you to wait up there for a reason," he said, "It's because I knew the gravel's very loose and was didn't want you to fall, which, incidentally was what just happened.  
Asuka blushed slightly, "Sorry,"  
"It's okay so long as you're fine," he said, releasing his hold of her hand.  
He turned his attention toward the Lance not too far off from where they were.  
"What did you want to do with the Lance?" Asuka asked curiously, following Shinji's gaze.  
"It never occurred to me until now, but the Lance has special properties," he answered, "It has this weird ability to morph. No one really knows the Lance's true form. For instance, the one that was impaling Lilith looked like a giant two-pronged red lance or pitchfork. On my world, when it was thrown to kill an Angel in outer space, it morphed in to something similar to a javelin. From the other world, the one where I now live, it's human-sized and looks like a spear. That leads me to believe that the Lance could morph of assume a form meant for the wielder of that Lance,"  
"So what do you intend to do?" Asuka asked, a bit confused. "I want to see if it'll morph to accommodate me," he said, "Maybe, just maybe, if I touch it, it would shrink and morph to fit and be wielded by my hands, not an EVA's hands,"  
Asuka said, "Well, it couldn't hurt to try,"  
"Exactly," he said.  
Shinji and Asuka made their way up to the mid-point second of the Lance as it lay on the ground. It was gigantic up close, so large that it was taller than Shinji as it lay resting. That meant the mere diameter of the shaft to the Lance was larger wider than Shinji was tall.  
"Man, this Lance is a lot larger up close than I expected," he commented.  
He reached forward and touched the Lance. To his shock, the Lance did just as he guessed. It seemed to instantly shrink in on itself, eventually assuming a miniature version of what it was just a second ago.  
The shock made Shinji pull his hand away, the Lance immediately assuming its enlarged state.  
"Oh man, my guess was right," he said, "I can't believe it actually morphs,"  
"I guess you're assumptions were right," Asuka smiled.  
Shinji said, "Yeah, but I did not believe for one second that it would actually do just as I expected. I had nothing by with to base my assumptions. It was more of a form of wishful thinking and giving myself a feeling of hope over anything else,"  
"Do you think it's because you're 'willing' the Lance to morph that's causing it?" she asked.  
"I'm not too sure," he shrugged.  
Asuka reached out to touch the Lance, "Let's find out. If it doesn't morph for me, then we'll know it's actually you that's causing it,"  
Shinji slapped Asuka's hand out of the way, "Don't touch it!"  
Asuka pulled her arm back to her body in surprise, a look of hurt on her face as she realized Shinji had just hit her. Her forearm stung from where Shinji's hand had slapped it.  
"I-I'm sorry," he said, realizing what he had done, "I-I didn't mean to hurt you,"  
Asuka was silent.  
"I never intended to hurt you," he said, "I just didn't want you touching it,"  
"H-how come?"  
"The Lance is cursed," he said, "Anyone who wields it will die tragically shortly after. Everyone that's ever wielded the Lance has died. I've wielded it before and I died once before. Ranma's wielded it and he's died. Rei's wielded it on my world to destroy and Angel in outer space and she's died. Angels have wielded it and they've died. Everyone's that's basically touched it have died tragically,"  
He paused for a moment, as he realized something.  
"Now that I think about it, Ryoga's even touched the Lance once," he said, "It was a while ago when he tried to pull it out of Ranma's chest and ended up dislocating his shoulder in the process. He died in tragic fashion as well later on, when all of this happened,"  
"B-but you touched it," Asuka gasped.  
"I know. I'm gonna die tragically as well," he said, "Unfortunately, that's a burden I was willing to take on. Keep in mind we were up against an Angel at the time,"  
"Y-you knew this all along and you just went along with it anyway?" Asuka gasped.  
He nodded, "Yeah. I had to. The funny thing is is that it wasn't even necessary. If I knew Unit-02 would've self-destructed before basically getting cursed from wielding the Lance, the explosion probably would've killed the Angel instead of the Lance. But then again, we would've ended up dying along with it. That's because, when I split the Angel in half, its drill fell off and dropped in to GeoFront and disappeared. Had we no Lance, the drill would've still been stuck in the ground and we wouldn'tve had a way to escape the explosion,"  
Asuka was silent.  
"I guess, if think about it, it's a no-win situation," Shinji said, "And using the Lance was the lesser of the two possible outcomes. At least I can deal with this basic 'curse' alone,"  
"You won't have to worry about being dealing with it alone," she said, "We'll be along side you. You haven't forgotten that we'll be coming with you. We'll make sure nothing bad happens to you,"  
Shinji chuckled, "Thanks. I'm glad to hear that. All right, let's see if I can put this Lance to good use,"  
He turned back toward the Lance and touched it again. The Lance morphed back in to a miniature version of itself, still resting on the ground.  
Asuka watched as Shinji crouched down by the Lance and tried to pick it up. It didn't even budge. Instead, Shinji's feet started sinking in to the loose ground from the exertion, unable to support the weight Shinji was administering on the ground to lift the Lance.  
"Something the matter?" Asuka asked, wondering what Shinji was trying to do. Why don't he just pick it up already?  
"I can't pick it up," he said, "It's too heavy,"  
"You're kidding me, right?" Asuka asked, "It looks like it should only weight around twenty pounds, if that,"  
Shinji released his hold of the Lance and took a step back, the Lance assuming its enlarged form. He shook his head, "I wish it weighs that much because it sure doesn't. Keep in mind you saw me flip a car and I can't even seem to budge it. Strangely enough, if the Lance weighs so much that the ground below my feet can't support the weight of me trying to lift the Lance, I wonder how come the Lance, weighing as much as it does, doesn't just sink right in to the ground,"  
"I can't be that heavy," Asuka said, "You're just acting,"  
Shinji gave Asuka a serious look, "No. I'm not. I'm dead serious. I can't pick it up,"  
Asuka wanted to reach out and touch the Lance, to make sure for herself that it really was as Shinji had said but Shinji stopped her.  
"Just trust me," he said in a soft voice, "It's too heavy. I can't lift it. Therefore, the idea of using this world's Lance with my own hands goes right out the window. I'm sure over time, more of my powers will surface and I should be able to, but considering I don't have the luxury of time, I need to move on to some other plan,"  
"So what do we do now?" she asked.  
"Our original plan for being here," he said, "Pray that there's a chance I can 'will' the Angels to abandon their objective to cause Third Impact,"

Shinji and Asuka realized they were having trouble getting out of the crater. Their plan was to get out and head over to the edge of the crater and find out where the Angel was. It had most likely finished regenerating and awaiting for the sea water to overflow in to the adjoining crater were it could make its way down to Nerv to accomplish its objective.  
"The gravel's too loose," Shinji commented, continuing to slide down when they reached the half-way point up the crater.  
Asuka looked at her watch, "What are we going to do? The sea water is going to overflow in to this crater very soon,"  
Shinji jerked a thumb toward the giant hole behind them, "Well, we can use it as cover. We can just hang out on the other side of the hole and keep it between us and the overflowing seawater, we'll be fine. That way, the seawater will just go right down the hole as it overflows,"  
"And then what?" Asuka asked, "We'll still be stuck since we still won't be able to get out of the crater on the other side. Also, I'm sure the incoming seawater will most likely be greater than the amount that would go down the opening. It might take longer, but this crater will eventually start filling up and we'll be dragged down in to the hole with the current,"  
Shinji gave a meek smile, "I guess you have a point. I guess I should've thought it through some more. I guess it's best if we just descend down in to GeoFront,"  
"You're saying that as if that's an easy thing," Asuka said, a bit nervous.  
"It shouldn't be that hard," he said, "I know how to fall from high places and land safely. I didn't get hurt landing from this height while carrying you, Ritsuko, and Misato. It'll be easier for me now that I'll only be carrying you,"  
"Both of your legs got broken," Asuka commented, "If that's what you consider as not getting hurt, then I'd hate to wonder what you consider as getting hurt,"  
"You know what I mean," Shinji smirked, "However, considering how fast I can heal, it shouldn't be all that bad,"  
She was silent for a moment before she finally said, "I guess you have a point. However, the thought of that great fall..."  
"We'll be fine," he smirked, "Actually, had you not come down in to the crater like I asked, you'd still be up there..."  
Asuka narrowed her eyes, "So this is all my fault?"  
He held up his hands defensively, "No need to get angry or anything. It was just a regular observation,"  
Asuka let out an annoyed breath.  
Shinji smiled. He couldn't help but feel a sense of nostalgia. That was how the Asuka he knew usually acted.  
The two of them walked over to where the hole was and peeked down the opening.  
Asuka gulped as she looked down in to GeoFront. Although she wasn't scared of heights, realizing just how far down it was to the ground of GeoFront made her seriously think otherwise. That was one long fall. Heck, Nerv Headquarters looked tiny from such a high vantage point.  
"Thank goodness this hole's not located directly over Nerv Headquarters," Shinji commented, "I wouldn't like the thought of trying to land on top of it, what with Nerv being the shape of a giant pyramid,"  
"That doesn't seem to make me feel any better," Asuka said, "I'm still worried over the fall,"  
Shinji extended one of his hands toward her for her to take.  
"Ready?" he asked.  
"Not really but I guess I don't have a choice," she sighed.  
Shinji glanced over as seawater started overflowing the edge of overlapping adjoining crater and in to the one in where they were. A second later, the wall of the crater, unable to support the weight and pressure of the seawater pressing against it, finally gave out and collapsed inward.  
Shinji's eyes widened as he realized that Ritsuko's calculation seemed to be off by around ten minutes. Perhaps it was because she had never given it a consideration that the Angel had been constantly ramming against one side of the crater edge in an attempt to break through it to make its way to Nerv.  
It looked like a massive dam just broke right before his eyes as what was probably billions of gallons of seawater came flooding in to the crater, coming straight toward him and Asuka like a wall of water.  
Shinji knew that that was bad.  
"Oh shit!"

new stuff 12/13

Shinji didn't hesitate for a split second as he quickly picked up Asuka in his arms and leapt down in to GeoFront through the hole. Asuka shrieked in surprise and fear as the ground came rushing toward her. Even though she was doing it for the second time, even if she had did it a thousand times before, she knew she would never get used to the free-falling.  
Landing on the ground safely, his right ankle breaking and instantly healing, while Asuka was still in his arms, Shinji sprinted toward Nerv Headquarters. When the seawater hit the ground and started spreading outward, he was long gone. Unfortunately, despite the head start, Shinji still ended up getting knocked off his feet when the water hit him from behind is he ran away. While holding on to Asuka tightly, he ended up sliding along the ground, powerless as he was forced to let the current carry him along, making sure he kept his and Asuka's head above the water.  
Because of just how large Nerv Headquarters was from the seawater's point of impact, the vastness of area that expanded in all directions made the deluge of water subside before long, the water having other directions to travel.  
Soaking wet, Shinji got up to his feet, gently placing the young girl on her feet.  
"You okay?" he asked.  
Asuka coughed a couple times, "Yeah. I swallowed a bit of water but I'm okay,"  
"We've gotta get in to Nerv and warn Misato and Ritsuko," Shinji said, "I know GeoFront is large, but eventually, it's gonna start filling up,"  
"Yeah, but not for a while," she said, "The water may look like it's coming in to GeoFront fast, but considering just how large GeoFront is and how the water coming in is constant, it'll take a while before it fills up and will only fill up slowly,"  
"I hope you're right," he said.  
"Oh my god!" Asuka shouted, pointing.  
Shinji looked at where Asuka was pointing and saw a massive object within the column that was the constant downward stream of incoming seawater. It only took him a fraction of a second to realize that it was the Angel.  
"Oh man," Shinji didn't like what was in store. The Angel was larger than a aircraft carrier. Although it was larger than the opening in the ceiling, it seems like it had a very flexible body and was able to squeeze through it.  
The Angel hit the ground with thunderous force, shaking the ground so violently it felt like a major earthquake around the surrounding area, Asuka falling from lack of firm footing. Shinji managed to keep his balance.  
Before Asuka even had a change to get back up, she was yanked up off her feet as Shinji grabbed one of her arm and ran toward Nerv. As Asuka looked back, she saw a massive tidal wave of dirt coming straight toward them. The massive weight of the Angel hitting the ground had uprooted so much dirt that it threatened to wash them away.  
Shinji made it in to Nerv as the wave of dirt passed right by the front door, eventually subsiding.  
When the two of them looked out the entrance, they noticed that around the ground was raised by an inch or so, covered by the new layer of dirt. They stood there for a minute, wanting to gather their bearings. That was a very intense experience. Shinji couldn't believe he had managed to keep a level head long enough so react accordingly.  
Shinji took a step out of Nerv and glance toward where the Angel had landed. The Angel looked perfectly fine and was unmoving, the fall having damaged it considerably and it needing time to regenerate. However, even if it hadn't gotten damaged from that fall, it would have no where to go since it needed water to get from one place to another.  
Shinji said, "Man, I hope the Angel is completely aquatic. It would really be bad if the Angel can somehow walk on land. After least this way, we've still go a good amount of time since it would be a while before the water within GeoFront fills up high enough for it to move around from one place to another and in to Nerv,"  
"I hope so too," Asuka agreed, "Heck, if that's the case, there might be a chance that Ritsuko will be able to finish reprogramming MAGI in time,"  
"You really think so?" Shinji asked.  
Asuka nodded, "I think so. If took around two hours from the water to fill up that crater made by the N2 mine, and the water was coming in from the sea really rapidly. GeoFront is significantly larger and the flow of water is much much slower,"  
Shinji said, "Y'know what? You're right. Perhaps we still do have a chance,"  
"Let's go tell this to Ritsuko," Asuka said.  
"Hold on one second," Shinji said, stepping outside.  
"What are you doing? Where are you going?" she asked.  
"I want to check to make sure that I can't control the Angel," he said, "I'm gonna get close to it to see if I could basically 'will' it to go away,"  
Asuka smirked, "Even if it does do what you want it to do, where can it go? It can't go anywhere,"  
"I understand, but at least this way, I'll know in advance whether or not I can control Angels,"

Shinji entered the command center. He fell to the floor when a bullet ricocheted right off the wall next to him.  
"Jeez, Misato!" he gasped, heart racing, "Will you be careful?"  
Misato assumed a relaxed position as she stood up from behind the console where she had been taken cover all this time, "Sorry about that. The entire building suddenly shook about a minute and we have no idea what that was or what happened. It's got me on edge much more than usual,"  
"Still," Shinji said, "You gotta be careful. I don't want you blowing my head off and killing me,"  
Misato shrugged, "I won't. I realized it was you at the last moment. Also, even if I did blow your head off, it's not like you wouldn't just get right back up, what with you not being able to die anymore,"  
"Huh?" he asked.  
"Nevermind," Misato waved a dismissive hand, "Ritsuko will mention that. Anyway, he went your trip topside? Did you find out if the Angel would listen to you? Do you know what happened before? What was all that shaking?"  
"We've got bad news," Shinji said, "Our trip topside went fine. I also found out that I can't use this world's Lance. It's too heavy and I can't physically lift it. I thought up the idea of using the Lance while on the way topside but I guess that plan goes right out the window. That shaking you felt was from the Angel falling down in to GeoFront,"  
"What? It's already in here?" Ritsuko's head popped out on the nearby console opening.  
He nodded, "Yeah. The water overflowed a little ahead of schedule. Anyway, the Angel's already in GeoFront. What's worse is that I can't seem to control the Angel like I was hoping,"  
Misato and Ritsuko said nothing. This was really bad. They were hoping that Shinji could control the Angel. Now everything seemed hopeless.  
"How do you know you can't control it?" Misato asked, wanting to make sure.  
"It doesn't respond to me," Shinji said, "I'm basically went about trying to 'will' the Angel in to doing something, anything, that I was thinking and trying to 'will' it to do, but it doesn't respond,"  
"Damn," Misato said, "This is really really bad,"  
"It doesn't seem all that hopeless," Shinji gave an optimistic smile, "The Angel seems to be completely aquatic and can't move around without water. That gives us quite a bit of time before GeoFront fills up quite a bit, at least enough for the Angel to maneuver around,"  
Ritsuko did the calculations in her head, "Well considering that the hole is around a hundred feet wide in diameter and the size of GeoFront and the volumetric flow of incoming seawater being constant, that doesn't leave us with enough time,"  
"Really? Are you sure?" Shinji asked.  
Ritsuko nodded, "Yes. I need around seventeen hours to reprogram MAGI. That time isn't really going to change. Unfortunately, a good portion of Nerv will be underwater by then, more importantly, the command center. If the command center was located in the upper-most section of Nerv Headquarters, then we would've made it. Unfortunately, that isn't the case,"  
"Is there anything we can do?" Shinji asked, "There's gotta be something. How long will it be before the command center is underwater,"  
Ritsuko shrugged, "Yes. There are several things. It will take probably around twelve hours before this room's too flooded for me to work on the console anymore. You've got several options. You can kill the Angel through whatever means possible and pray that the next one doesn't show up until later, after we've had enough time to somehow get rid of the water and destroy Lilith. That's because, even though the Angel is destroyed, this command center will still become flooded, which would prevent me from finishing my task. That way, all we would need to worry about is the water and not the Angel. Of course, I doubt that's feasible since it's probably just as problematic,"  
"I sure believe so," Shinji said, "What's our other options?"  
"You can somehow get your hands on an N2 mine and just lug it in here and set it off inside Nerv instead of having Nerv self-destruct," she said, "Unfortunately, the problem there is that an N2 mine is gigantic and it weighs a lot more than that car you had trouble flipping over. Much like all N2 mines and even nuclear devices, it requires a key-code to be set off, something of which I have no idea where you're going to find. Last but not least, you need to find one of those things and I'm sure you can't find them all that easily. I guess that option's out of the question,"  
"I sure believe so," he said, "Man, your first two seem basically impossible,"  
"I thought about them before but never bothered to bring them up because it was useless to mention them in the first place," she commented.  
"Um, do you happen to have any other ideas? Perhaps some that aren't borderline impossible?" he asked.  
"Your final option is that you can try and slow down the incoming seawater," Ritsuko said.  
"And just how do I do that?" Shinji asked, "How do I go about plugging up a giant hole that's in the ceiling that's basically hundred feet in diameter? And let's not forget to mention that there will be a massive amount of seawater passing through that hole all the time,"  
Ritsuko said, "Well, you don't need to try and plug the hole up from GeoFront. You can try and plug it up from topside,"  
"Using what?" he asked, "It's a giant hundred foot wide hole!"  
"You don't have to necessarily plug it up completely," Ritsuko said, "All you need to do is slow down the water flow. Just partially blocking it or clogging it up a bit is good enough,"  
"Like I asked before, using what?" he asked.  
"Well, I remember seeing aircraft carriers around the shores," Ritsuko said, "It's plenty large enough to clog up the hole. Perhaps you can somehow commandeer one of those, maneuver it over the hole where it'll get sucked down in to the hole where it'll get stuck or at least partially stuck,"  
Shinji fell to the floor out of shock at just how ridiculous that plan was.  
"Commandeer an aircraft carrier and make it clog the hole? How's this any easier than the first two options?"

Shinji laughed hysterically as he and Asuka raced up the tunnel and topside.  
"I have virtually no experience with ships," Shinji said, "All I know about them is from what I've read about in books and such and what little I learned while I was on one on my own world a long time ago,"  
"But you know ships, right?" Asuka asked.  
Shinji nodded, "Yeah. I really like ships, and know quite about them, but I've never actually tried to do something as crazy and insane as taking on over. Jeez, this is so insane it's not even funny,"  
He recalled the time when he met Sumi's father and mother, both of whom served on ships before. He remember asking Sumi's father when he first met him a question about reduction gears which was basically the transmission of a ship. The man, being a machinist-mate, a person that worked in the engine room of a ship, answered his question. Sumi's mother used to work in the galley, the kitchen area, on the same ship where she met her husband. The two of them most likely knew what he knew about ships, but, unlike him, they had experience.  
"Boy, it would be great if they were around," he commented.  
"Who? Misato and Ritsuko?" Asuka asked, "They don't really know much about ships. Besides, Ritsuko needs to stay in Nerv and continue programming while Misato watches over her and keep people from entering the command center,"  
"No, not them," he answered, "I was just thinking aloud. I was just commenting about how nice it would be to have these people I know helping me out because they used to work on ships,"  
"Oh," she said.  
The two of them continued along down the tunnel.  
"Um, is it true, about what Ritsuko said?" Asuka asked, referring to a conversation that took place between him and Misato and Ritsuko shortly before she and Shinji left the command center together.  
Shinji shrugged, "I really dunno. I dunno if I died. I have no recollection of what happened after I was knocked out. All I remember was waking up a couple days later with a bit of a headache,"  
"Man, the only explanation to that is that there's a chance that you're immortal," Asuka commented, "That's just beyond comprehension,"  
He said, "I dunno if I am. If I died from something like a bullet wound, then you'd think I would've died several times over when fighting that Lorenz guy,"  
"You might've but came back to life immediately afterwards," Asuka commented, "The bullet wound from when you were first shot was gone when you disappeared. But that was when you woke up after a couple of days. The bullet wound you said you got on your leg disappeared, but this was only probably around five minutes afterwards. The time when you got shot while we were ducking the alley way, you healed after around a minute. The time when you cut yourself when you crashed the car, you healed instantly,"  
"What about it?" Shinji asked.  
"Think about it, you're healing faster and faster," she said, "Before long, you'll probably heal so fast that you probably won't even realize you've been hurt in the first place,"  
Shinji was silent.  
"Perhaps that saying you mentioned is coming true," Asuka said, "Only God can kill God. That's why you came back after getting shot the first time around, because you were killed by a human. For all we know, you probably were killed several times over by Lorenz, but, since he isn't God and is just some kinda human and machine hybrid, he can't stop you,"  
"Y-you really think so?"  
"That's gotta be it," she said.  
"I guess it has to be the case," he said after a moment, "Afterall, it seems like I'm the only one that will be capable of killing Ranma,"  
The blood drained from Asuka's face, "Oh no!"  
"What?" he looked around.  
She had this very terrified look on her face as she regarded Shinji, "If only God can kill God...and you touched the Lance and are cursed to die tragically, then that means..." Shinji gave a sad smile.  
"I know, I'll be killed by Ranma while fighting him,"

Shinji looked around for another abandoned car. "What are you looking for?" Asuka asked, breathing heavily. They had made it out of the tunnel and she was in need of a rest to catch her breath. Although she was in shape, there was no way she could prolong such the strenuous exertion of running up that inclined tunnel like Shinji could.  
"I'm looking for a car to hotwire again," he replied, "The shore's all way on the other side of Tokyo-3. It'll just be easier, especially on you, if we just steal a car and drive there. You look really beat,"  
"I'm fine," she said defensively, not wanting to seem weak.  
Shinji said, "Um, well, I'm beat and I don't wanna run,"  
He could easily run the distance there and not break a sweat but Asuka sure couldn't. Making himself seem like he was weak would make it seem easier on Asuka, "I may have powers, but considering how I don't really know how to control them or the extent of what kinda powers I have, I can still seem to get tied,"  
"I guess you've got a point," she shrugged, "It is a bit tiring,"  
Shinji looked over down the street where he saw a flipped over car. It was on his side, across the street from where it was most likely originally parked.  
"Cool, there's one we can use," he pointed, heading down toward the car.  
Asuka followed him up to where the car was and stood back as he proceeded to try and flip it off its side and on to its four wheels.  
"Um," she began.  
Shinji proceeded to push at the roof of the car, it not budging.  
"What the hell? This car's not moving," he said, "It should at least start tilting now,"  
He pushed with all his might. The roof of the car ended up pushing in from the exertion, but the car finally tipped back over toward its rightful side. However, it seemed to stop at an angle before its wheels touched the floor, leaving it seemingly remaining on a tilted position, resting on only two wheels.  
"What the hell?" Shinji scratched his head.  
"The shockwave from that N2 mine earlier sent it tumbling over where it came to a rest on its side and up against a telephone pole," she said, "You were pushing the car over while trying to shove the telephone pole over as well,"  
Shinji walked around where he saw the telephone pole. It was broken and tilted at an angle, leaning against the side of a building, the underside of the car resting on it.  
"Jeez," Shinji said, blushing, "I didn't notice that,"  
"D-do you realize what you just did?" Asuka's eyes widened, "You just pushed a car over and broke a telephone pole in the process,"  
"You're right," he said, scratching his head, "How the heck did I managed to do that? I'm not strong enough to do that. I had a lot of trouble flipping that last car over. It takes a lot more strength to flip this car while simultaneously break the telephone pole it was resting against,"  
"What do you think that means?" she asked.  
"I have no idea," he said, "Maybe my strength is starting to kick in. I was thinking of that. Remember that time when I tried to break down that door to Central Dogma? I couldn't break through it the first time around. Later on, I broke it, when I hit Lorenz in to it,"  
Asuka scratched, "Wow, that's amazing. That was only around, what, fifteen minutes after I first tried knocking it down. For you to be able to grow strong enough from just making a palm-print to actually knocking down that door must mean your strength is growing exponentially,"  
"Yeah, but if my strength grew that much in such a short time, then that must mean I should've been way strong enough to break down that door by the time I reached it," he commented, "How could've gotten so much stronger over that short span of time?"  
"Well, you fought Lorenz, do you think that has something to do with it?" Asuka asked.  
Shinji thought for a moment, "Well, yeah, but what does that hafta do with it?"  
Asuka snapped her figures, "I think I know. Perhaps what you said was true for when you fought him. Perhaps you did die several times over when fighting that Lorenz guy,"  
"I don't get it,"  
"Perhaps every time you get hurt, you heal back up stronger than before," Asuka said, "Between now and then, you hurt yourself when you accidentally crashed the car and must've hurt yourself from that fall from in to GeoFront. Perhaps those two incidents have made you stronger than then,"  
"You think that could be possible?" Shinji asked, "You really think that I get stronger every time I get hurt?"  
Asuka nodded, "It makes sense, doesn't it? The first time around, you healed after a couple of days. The next time around, after several minutes. The next time after that, within seconds. And now, it's basically instantaneously. Perhaps every time your powers are used, you get more powerful,"  
Shinji was silent, "Y'know what? You may have a point,"  
"Of course, you shouldn't bet your life on it," Asuka said, "For all we know, it could be something else that's making you get more powerful,"  
"Yea, I guess you have a point. But still, what you just told me makes a lot of sense,"

Shinji looked at the sea shore. It had taken around a good ten minutes for him to drive all the way down to the other side of Tokyo-3 with Asuka where the shoreline was. The fact that there was no one wandering around the city for him to worry about hitting in to made the trip much faster.  
"Um, we seem to have a problem," Shinji commented, noticing the ship far out from shore.  
"I noticed," Asuka knew exactly what he was thinking about.  
The sea looked like a graveyard of ships, a majority of the having been destroyed by the Angel a few hours ago. It was either that or from being within such close proximity to the N2 mine that had been set off. They had no real idea but they figured it was the former, not the latter. The problem they were facing was that the one aircraft supercarrier that was in the water was horribly damaged and most likely dead-in-the-water.  
"Do you think all that destruction is from Angel attacking them or N2 mine?" Asuka asked.  
"I don't think it was from the N2 mine," he said, "If you look, you'll notice that ships are, what, around four to five miles out from where we are. That's farther than the lethal range of an N2 mine. The damage done could be from the shockwave, but it's probably most likely from the initial Angel fight, before the N2 mine was detonated,"  
"Exactly what is the lethal range of one?" Asuka asked curiously.  
"They're different," he said, wondering if he should bother wasting his time giving a technical explanation, "They have different yield types. I assume that the one used here was probably four to five times more powerful than the one set off during the first Angel attack on Tokyo-3. You weren't around, but it was pretty powerful and probably had a range of around a mile or so. This one's got a range of around three miles, what with the obvious size of the crater. The ships are outside the range so it's most likely the damage was from the initial Angel attack. However, whether or not it was the damage caused from the N2 mine or the Angel is kinda trivial. What we have to worry about is the fact that basically the aircraft supercarrier is basically dead-in-the-water. Look at it, the front of the ship is lower in the water than the back. It's sinking. It'll only be a matter of time before it at the bottom of the sea,"  
"W-what are we going to do?" Asuka couldn't help but feel a sense of panic.  
"I have no idea," he said, "But the fact that the aircraft supercarrier's dead-in-the-water leaves us with nothing to go by,"  
"Do you have any ideas?" she asked.  
Shinji shook his head, "No. Actually, I was about to ask you the same thing,"  
"Well, if our theory is correct, that you get more and more powerful the more you get hurt or killed, perhaps we can try we can kill you enough times that you'll come back with enough power to lift the Lance and kill the Angel and worry about blowing up the Nerv afterwards,"  
Shinji sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose.  
"What's sad is that that's probably all we've got to go by,"

Shinji drove the car through the two foot high water level of GeoFront.  
"I don't think we should be driving through this," Asuka commented, her feet on the seat. The interior of the car was already starting to flood and would soon reach seat level.  
She looked toward Shinji and noticed that both of his feet were submerged up to mid-calf as he had one foot on the accelerator, the other on the clutch as he switched down a gear.  
"I'm pretty sure I shouldn't be doing this," Shinji commented, "But it's much easier letting the car do all the work instead of trying to tread through all that water,"  
"I guess you have a point," she agreed.  
Shinji pulled the car up to the entrance of Nerv around an hour since they had left, not all that caring if there were still Nerv operatives roaming around. The entire interior of Nerv was most likely in a panic over the rising water level and most likely evacuated.  
"Hm, I need to let those guys go," he commented.  
"Let who go?" Asuka asked.  
"Fuyutsuki and the others," Shinji answered, "They're probably still tied in the restroom. All of Nerv's probably evacuated by now and they'll be in trouble if the water level rises too much,"  
"I guess you have a point," she nodded.  
Now at the entrance, the two of them stepped out of the car, taking a moment to look over toward the giant Angel laying where it had landed. It was underneath the column of seawater still deluging GeoFront. The image made it look similar to a stingray resting underneath a water faucet. The Angel hadn't budged an inch from the position they last seen it.  
"The water level's not high enough," Shinji said, "Thank goodness,"  
Asuka agreed.  
"Go away! Disappear!" Shinji shouted toward the Angel.  
"What are you doing?" Asuka asked.  
"I just wanna make sure that I truly can't control the Angel like I was hoping," Shinji answered, "I figure that perhaps over time, more of my powers have surfaced, one of them being my ability to control the Angel,"  
"Unfortunately, it seems like that doesn't seem to be the case," Asuka commented.  
"I know," he sighed, "It doesn't seem to respond to my commands. Even though it can't go anywhere, what with it having no where to go, I was just trying to see if it so much as tries to follow my commands, which I doesn't seem to be doing,"  
Asuka headed in to Nerv, "Well, at least now we know. You can summon Angels, but you can't control them,"  
"That still doesn't explain why that last Angel seemed to have helped Ritsuko, Misato, and I out when we were pinned down," Shinji commented, "As well as how we were left unscathed after the explosion,"  
"I guess we'll find out over time," Asuka said.  
"Hopefully,"

Shinji watched as Fuyutsuki and the others ran down the corridor and away from them.  
"Do you think they'll bring back reinforcements?" Asuka asked, a bit concerned.  
Shinji shook his head, "I doubt it. They really think I have you captive and really think I would kill you. You played the part really well. They really believed that I have your arms tied up behind your back when all we did was make sure that we faced them the whole time,"  
Asuka smiled confidently, "Thanks. It was kinda easy. I'm good at acting,"  
"Obviously," he smirked, "The way you pretended to struggle to free yourself from your invisible bindings when I was untying them and while it seemed like I wasn't looking really made it all the more believable,"  
"We make a good team," she smiled warmly, wondering if he was going to catch the hint.  
Shinji gave a slight smile, catching the hint, "Um, yeah. I guess so,"  
"Do you think that they think you have the commander in custody and will kill him?" Asuka asked.  
"Yeah," Shinji nodded, "They hafta. They don't know about his whereabouts. No one's really going to find him. After I knocked him out, I moved him to a different room and locked him up in the closet. No one's gonna accidentally walk in to that room and accidentally find him in the closet. Heck, even if they do find him, he's going to be out for a while and won't be of much use anyway,"  
"Hopefully it'll buy us time," Asuka said.  
Shinji smirked, "Actually, we probably have a lot of time. Considering the situation, I wouldn't be surprised if people have already started giving up and expecting Third Impact,"  
Shinji headed in to the command center. Once again, he narrowly missed getting his head blown off.  
"Jeez!" he said.  
"Sorry," Misato gave a meek smile, standing up from behind her console.  
Shinji took a moment to gather his bearings. "I wasn't expecting you," Misato commented, "I figure right now, you'd be in the process of taking over an aircraft carrier and sailing it toward the hole to plug it up,"  
Shinji gave a meek smile, "How can you say that so calmly? Do you really expect me to be able to do something crazy like that?"  
"I wouldn't be all that surprised considering what've you've done so far," Misato said seriously.  
"I'm not Ranma," Shinji said, "He can do stuff like that, not me,"  
"How come you're back here anyway?" she asked, "Actually, it doesn't really matter because you couldn't be here at a better time. You're definitely at the right place at the right time,"  
"We found out that the aircraft supercarrier is dead-in-the-water," Shinji answered, "The impossible task of commandeering that thing and trying to sail it in to the hole to block it up became even more impossible. What's the deal with my being at the right place at the right time?"  
"The army's finally mobilized," Misato said, "It's on its way down toward GeoFront to try and see if they could defeat it...um...on land,"  
"How do you know?"  
"We do," Misato jerked toward the console, "Keep in mind that this command center is one of the center of military operations. We just listened in on what the military was doing,"  
Shinji said, "Lettme get this straight, the army is finally mobilizing, and it's on its way down here, to GeoFront?"  
"Yes,"  
"This is really bad," he commented.  
"No, what's bad is that it's bringing an N2 mine," Misato added, "It seems to have realized that the N2 mine can hurt the Angel and is actually going to attempt to blow it up,"  
"Jeez!" Shinji hung his head low, "This is really really bad,"  
"We've got a plan," she said.  
"And what plan is that?" he smirked, wanting to burst out laughing, "Is it as easy as, say, commandeering an aircraft supercarrier and making it try and plug up the hole?"  
Misato narrowed her eyes, "Do you want to hear it or not?"  
"Fine, what is it?" he asked, becoming serious again.  
"Rather then let the army try and blow up the Angel," Misato said, "You can fight your way through the convoy escorting the truck carrying the N2 mine and steal it. That way, you can use it to blow up Nerv and Lilith up with it,"  
Shinji burst out laughing hysterically and said in a sarcastic voice, "No problem. I'm sure they'll let me do that,"  
"Hey, I didn't say it was going to be easy,"

new stuff 12/20

Shinji didn't like what he was seeing. In the far end of GeoFront, by the exit of the tunnel, he saw a tank. Waiting a few minutes, he found himself looking at four tanks one on each corner of what looked like a heavily armored transport truck. Surrounding the truck and walking along side it, using the tanks as cover, were more troops than Shinji cared to acknowledge. He lost count somewhere around forty.  
"You've gotta be kidding me," Shinji said, "How the heck am I supposed to deal with all that? Ranma would have trouble dealing with that stuff and he can shoot ki-blasts! All I have are a buncha rocks!"  
He looked at his hands. No, he didn't have a bunch of rocks. He had only a handful of rocks. A bunch of rocks usually meant at least eight or more. A handful was less than that.  
He wondered if he had magic rocks. Maybe he could hit one soldier where it would bounce of that guy and proceed to hit in to another soldiers and bounce of that guy and in to another one and so on.  
"Yeah, like that would work," Shinji said.  
He was grateful that Misato and Ritsuko and Asuka weren't around. They were still in the command center. He sighed. He was basically their last and only line of defense from being taken in. It didn't take a genius for anyone to know that they were all going to be shot at with extreme prejudice.  
"Damn, I'm in so much trouble," he muttered to himself, knowing that he was way in over his head. So what if he had this weird ability of brushing off or at least surviving fatal wounds? It still didn't mean he would be able to take on an army. He was no Ranma.  
"Man, I need another Angel around to distract 'em," he said aloud, "With them constantly worrying over an Angel, maybe then, perhaps I might have a chance,"  
The color drained from Shinji's face as he suddenly realized what he had just said.  
"Oh no. Oh no. Oh no,"  
He quickly turned around and headed back in to Nerv.

Shinji entered the command centered, terrified with what he was going to hear. He ended up accidentally getting shot, the bullet grazing right by his face, only causing a superficial scratch on his face. It only lasted for an instant before it healed up completely. The funny thing was that Shinji didn't even realize he had gotten hurt.  
"Jeez!" Shinji said, "You almost took my head off!"  
"I-I'm really really sorry!" Misato said profusely, "I was panicking over what's happening. My mind had wandered,"  
Misato didn't even realized she had even shot him, Shinji having healed so quickly that she didn't even see the wound before it disappeared.  
"Are you okay?" Asuka asked. She had been next to Misato, supposedly keeping vigil. She even had a gun but Shinji assumed that it was more for show, that she would never be able to bring herself to actually fire it at some human being like Misato seemed to have no problems in doing.  
Shinji nodded, "Yeah, I'm fine,"  
"We've got bad news," Misato said.  
Shinji gulped. He didn't like the sound of that.  
"Ritsuko, Shinji's here," Misato called out.  
"Did you think about another Angel attacking us?" Ritsuko said, her head popping out of the console panel, "There's an Angel on the way! We now have two Angels to deal with!"  
Shinji's silence said volumes.  
"You did, didn't you?" Ritsuko said.  
He nodded, "I didn't mean to,"  
Ritsuko climbed out of the console, "Unfortunately, it seems like you accidentally did and an Angel's on its way,"  
Shinji thought about it for a moment, "Which Angel?"  
"How the heck should we know?" Misato asked.  
"What did you do?" Asuka asked. He held up his hands defensively, "I didn't doing anything. It was purely by accident,"  
"Whatever the case, we are in serious trouble," Misato said, "We've got one Angel just outside of Nerv Headquarters, an army on its way, and last but not least, a second incoming Angel around five minutes out to see and from reaching here,"  
Shinji sighed, "This is not good,"  
"Not good?" Misato asked, "The moon falling to Earth is not good. At least that way, there's a chance the human race can live on. This is worse than that since there is no way we can stop it from causing Third Impact,"  
Shinji shook his head, "Maybe, just maybe, there is a chance,"  
"And what plan have you got?" Misato asked, "I ran out of plans long ago,"  
"We can try and use Unit-00 to self-destruct it and take out both Angels at once," Shinji commented, "We just hafta wait until the next Angel is close enough to Nerv and the other Angel so that we can take them both out,"  
"We can't," Ritsuko said, "Unit-00 is inoperable. It can't even move,"  
"What the heck is wrong with it anyway?" Shinji asked.  
"It's in pieces," Ritsuko said, "Its arms, legs, head and torso are all separated. After the incident where it went berserk, it was dismantled so it could be thoroughly checked out to see what made it go berserk,"  
Shinji sighed, "Damn. So I guess my plan of using Unit-00 goes right out the window,"  
"Maybe not," Misato said, "Mention of Unit-00 self-destructing got me thinking about something. Perhaps we can't take Unit-00 out and take out the Angels. However, what's to stop us from self-destructing it within Nerv,"  
Shinji's eyes widened, "You're right. That's a great idea. We can take out Nerv and Lilith along with it. Rather than trying to self-destruct Nerv through reprogramming MAGI, we can just self-destruct Unit-00 within it. It'll produce the same results,"  
Ritsuko said, "That's not possible,"  
"Argh!" Shinji wanted to cry, "Why not? Why must everything be so hard?"  
"I'm sorry," she said, "If you want me to tell you why not, then I won't tell you. At least this way, you can still feel a sense of hope even though hope is just denying yourself reality,"  
Shinji sighed, "Please. Go on. How come it isn't possible?"  
"In order for it to self-destruct, you have to have Unit-00 assembled completely," she said, "Why is that?" Shinji asked.  
"It's the way the EVAs are built," she answered, "Keep in mind that Unit-00's self-destruction is meant to be used a defensive countermeasure, so it could never fall in to the wrong hands. We would rather destroy the EVAs than to have it stolen from us, which is probably why MAGI did so with Unit-02, what with the fact that you were, technically, stealing Unit-02. The point is is that the EVAs weren't designed to have its self-destruction used as a form of offensive attack against Angels but rather an defensive one from being stolen,"  
Shinji sighed, "I guess you have a point. Damn, I guess we're back where we started,"  
"Not really. We've got a second Angel to worry about," Misato said, "We're far off worse now than before. I hope this is as bad as it could get,"  
"Looks like the only thing we've got to go by is getting that N2 mine from the incoming army and using it to destroy Nerv and Lilith along with it," Ritsuko said.  
"Damn, what the heck am I gonna do?" Shinji said, "I saw what I'm up against. There are tanks out there. Tanks!"  
"But you're invulnerable to bullets," Misato said.  
Shinji shook his head emphatically, "No! You're wrong. I can and have gotten hurt. When I get hit, it hurts. Sure, it lasts only a split second, but it still hurts like I got shot,"  
"But it only last a split second," Misato asked, "Think of it as getting a quick electric shock or something. You feel it one second, and then you don't feel it anymore the next second. Don't let the initial shock be what scares you from doing what you need to do,"  
"This is getting shot," Shinji said, "not receiving some kinda static shock in case you're wondering. And this isn't just regular bullets, these are military bullets. Full metal jackets or whatever they're called. They're a lot bigger than regular bullets,"  
Everyone was silent. Shinji was in quite a fix. He sighed as he headed out toward the command center exit.  
"Oh man, I can't believe I'm going to be doing this,"

Shinji didn't managed to sneak ten feet out of Nerv Headquarters before he was spotted. Because he was branded a as a Nerv traitor, he was easily recognized fired upon. This forced him to seek cover by the Nerv entrance.  
As he tried to find out what to do, he looked down at himself and noticed that there were blood spots on his clothes where there weren't previously, two blood spots on both legs. This made him realized that he must have been shot when bullets were sprayed in his particular direction as he ran for cover.  
He rubbed at his legs but felt no pain.  
"That's strange, I don't even remember being shot," he said.  
He reach down and picked up several rocks that had come off from when the bullets struck the concrete walls around the entrance. It took him a minute to find it before he found it, what with the water level being around knee level.  
He peeked his head out and quickly ducked for cover when he saw a squad of ten soldier, weapons held in front of them and trained on the entrance as they slowly headed toward Nerv. Although the army's main priority was to destroy the Angel lying still in the middle of the falling column of water seeping in to GeoFront from the ceiling, Shinji was considered a target of opportunity.  
Shinji threw a few rocks, easily incapacitating a few soldiers.  
He went back to ducking for cover when they opened fire upon his location once again.  
As he waited for an opening to throw more rocks, he looked down and caught sight of his leg being shot countless times. Little did he know that his leg was being targeted the whole time, him having not realized that his right leg wasn't behind cover all this time.  
He started with wide eyes as he watched his pants being ripped as bullets seemingly pierced right through the fabric, through his leg, and out the other side.  
He didn't even move his leg, his gaze transfixed on what he was seeing. He didn't even feel any pain as his leg was being riddled with bullets and suddenly and miraculously heal.  
When he finally pulled his leg back in and behind cover, he rubbed at his leg. He felt nothing, no pain whatsoever. Actually, he did feel something. He felt his own hand rubbing against it but nothing else. His eyes widened as he realized his powers have finally started kicking in.  
Even though that seemed to be the case, he wasn't taking chances. He quickly peeks his head out and threw several more rocks, incapacitating more soldiers. However, when he looked, he noticed several more breaking formation from the convoy to join their brethren.  
Shinji proceeded to fish around in the water for more pieces of rocks, smirking slightly, "If they keep doing that, I'll be able to take all of 'em out in no time. Maybe this isn't as hard as I thought it would be,"  
The wall behind Shinji suddenly exploded inward as a tank shell hit it the entrance. Shinji was blown forward where he slammed in to the wall on the other side of entrance and fell backwards in to the water.  
He started laughing when the water surrounding him started to splash violently. It looked as if there were hundred of fish surrounding Shinji and were splashing water all over the place.  
Shinji looked down wondering what the heck was going on, a bit dazed about what had happened. He didn't know why that wall blew out from behind him. The water around him suddenly stopped splashing.  
"Huh?" he asked, still confused as what was going on.  
He stood up. A moment later, the water surrounding him started splashing about violently once again.  
He looked around and wondered what was causing it. It only took him a moment to realize he was standing in the middle of the entrance, in full view of the soldiers. The splashing water had been from the bullets from all those soldiers shooting at him. They had stopped when they notice he wasn't moving and stopped. When he stood up, they opened fire again.  
Shinji stood here he was, very confused. He was feeling nothing. He looked down at his body and noticed tiny wounds opening and closing instantly. Before long, he realized he was being shot all this time but wasn't feeling the pain that went along with it.  
"W-wow," he gasped, "I-it's working!"  
He had suspected that it would all be a matter of time before he would no longer feel any pain, what with the fact that the time of when he felt pain to when he was fully healed and it gone was growing shorter and shorter with every passing second. Little did Shinji know that he stopped feeling pain not long after his fight with Lorenz. Having been killed a few times in that fight, Shinji came back more powerful than ever. It was as if his powers have kicked in to basically accommodate its master and make everything easier for him. Unfortunately, Shinji had no idea that all of this had happened until now.  
Shinji stood there for almost a good minute, still trying to comprehend what was going on. It wasn't the attacks that was making him disoriented but rather what he was seeing. It was similar to someone waking up from a dream they were positive that was real and in that disoriented state of mind trying to comprehend what was going on and eventually arriving at the conclusion that he had been dreaming.  
"M-my powers have started kicking in," he said, things finally starting to dawn on him.  
He started to smile as he turned his attention toward the soldiers, ready use his powers to his full advantage. With him not being able to get hurt, getting his hands on the N2 mine will be easy as cake.  
Before he was able to make a full smile, the wall besides him erupted as a second tank shell struck the nearby wall. Shinji brought his arms in front of him to shield his face, a instinctive response, something that would most likely be lost over time if one possessed the powers Shinji had. He was blown backwards where he landed around thirty feet further within Nerv.  
The effect of the tank shell was two-fold. It not only disoriented Shinji and ended up knocking him off his feet from being within such close proximity to the blast, but it weakened the concrete supporting the ceiling around the entrance.  
With both walls blown out, the ceiling of the surrounding area caved downward, massive chucks of concrete and steel beams raining down on Shinji.  
Shinji was crushed under tons and tons of steel and concrete. Although actually getting hit in the head by falling debris didn't seem to harm him, the weight of it seemed to have more of an effect.  
Before he even realized what was going on, he suddenly found himself pinned to the ground, a massive ten ton slab of rock crushing his chest. The crushing weight didn't hurt at all. However, the problem was that he found himself unable to breath for he was completely underwater.  
He immediately began to panic as he tried to lift the weight off his body. He realized he was in terrible trouble when he was unable to lift it, the weight just too heavy, heavier than anything he had ever tried to lift before.  
"H-help!" he tried to scream, his words unheard due to the seawater. All that resulted was a loss of much needed air.  
He continued to struggle to free himself but was unable to budge to the rock pinning him down. Although strong, he was no where near strong enough to lift that weight. Only someone as strong as Ranma or Ryoga could possibly lift something so heavy and it would most likely give them some trouble doing so.  
I'm going to drown, Shinji realized. Shinji's eyes went glassy as seawater flooded in to his lungs. Although it felt weird, much like LCL was entering his lungs, he realized he could not breath underwater. He needed help but there was no one around to help him.  
A short distance away just outside the Nerv entrance, the fallen Angel seemed to come to life as it seemed to gather energy from an unknown force and will itself back to full health. Little did anyone know, Shinji especially, that it simply didn't move because it had been recovering from the damage it had inflicted upon itself from the fall from the surface. It began to thrash violently, seawater being splashed and earth shifted as it tried to on the knee-high water level, much like the way a fish would thrash abount.  
The entire convoy turned its attention on to the Angel as it continued to thrash and opened fire upon the Angel, shooting it with everything its got. Explosions exploded all over the exterior of the Angel, the entire interior of GeoFront lit brightly from those explosions.  
As if on a mission, the Angel proceeded to thrash about and slowly make its way toward Nerv entrance to save Shinji, all the while its body being ravaged due to the lack of AT Field and the constantly attacking convoy.  
Snaking its way to Nerv entrance, crushing two tanks in its way under its massive weight as it did so, the Angel opened its gigantic mouth and took a bite right in to the entrance. It proceeded to do so, chewing at the massive structure in an attempt burrow in to the area where Shinji continued to lay pinned under massive slab of rock so it could get it off him. It looked similar to the way a little child would go about digging at an ant hole to reach a lone ant a short distance within that hole.  
Ignoring the attacks, the Angel continued to chomp down on the front entrance.  
When the Angel finally made it to where Shinji was, a massive chunk of Nerv had been eaten away. It gently, similar to the way a mother would handle a baby, the Angel closed its gigantic teeth over the rock slab on Shinji, not wanting to hurt him as it did so and lifted the rock up off him.  
Unable to do anything and having already done its part, the Angel turned its attention toward the convoy still attacking its back all the time.  
Shinji sat upright, his head breaking through the surface, as he coughed several times, bringing up a massive quantity of water. His eyes were glassy and he was seriously disoriented. He had no idea who, what, or where he was, his survival instincts having taken complete control of him as his body gasped for air.  
He sat in the water for a good few moment, continuing to cough to rid his lungs of the seawater. When he realized he was still breathing and alive, it took him a good minute to come to terms about what had happened. He was so sure he was going to drown had he not felt the heavy slab of rock suddenly lifted off him.  
He looked around and tried to gather his surroundings.  
He had no idea where he was. Glancing toward the entrance, he saw nothing but gray. Little did he know that he was seeing a portion of the Angel's its side toward him as it went about attacking at the convoy with its mouth and teeth, trying to bite the tanks in half.  
When he realized that he was by the entrance, Shinji got up to his feet and looked around, wondering what was going on.  
After a moment, when the Angel scurried away from the entrance to destroy the last remaining tank, Shinji realized he had been looking at the side of the Angel up close and personal all this time.  
A thought flashed through his mind.  
"Did that Angel just save me?" he scratched his head.  
He ran toward the entrance, needing to climb over the debris that had fallen down and looked out toward GeoFront where he found himself looking at the Angel's back as it seemed to be taking bites as something. He didn't know what it was at the moment.  
When he heard the sounds of gunfire and suddenly realized that there had been a convoy just outside Nerv Headquarters and that it was most likely attacking the Angel as it retaliated.  
He watched in astonishment for several minutes before everything became quiet, the Angel having destroyed the entire convoy, with nothing but its bare teeth, having bitten the attacking tanks in half and even eaten the soldiers that tried to fight back.  
When everything was done and over with, the Angel scooted on its body to face Shinji.  
Shinji found himself looking face-to-face with the Angel. Now that it had finally recuperated from the massive fall from the surface, the Angel was healed well enough to do Shinji's bidding. Little did Shinji know that the Angel had been unable to respond to Shinji all this time until it had healed up well enough to do so. It not moving or attacking Nerv due to lack of water had nothing to do it. It had all been because it just waited there all this time to recuperate so it could help Shinji.  
The Angel waited for Shinji's command.

new stuff 12/21

Shinji gulped as he glanced up at the Angel. He was currently experiencing the single most terrifying thing he was ever experienced in his life. The first time he had ever been sent out to fight an Angel in Unit-01 in his own world wasn't as terrifying.  
He was so close to the Angel that he could feel its hot breath. This was odd because he never realized Angels were even living creatures. He thought they had been some kind of energy based creature instead.  
Shinji stood perfectly still, like the way a spider would in the middle of the wall when the lights were turned on, as if standing still was a good enough camouflage from being seen.  
A good several minutes passed in complete silence, the only sound heard being the water still streaming in to GeoFront. The silence was broken when a indiscernible object traveled down the column of seawater and crashed on the floor of GeoFront.  
Even though the massive body of the Angel in front of him was blocking his view, Shinji didn't need to see what had fallen to the ground to know what it was. The incoming Angel had finally reached GeoFront via the opening much like the previous one currently right in front of him.  
Shinji gulped, wondering what he was going to do.  
To his surprise, the Angel seemed to turn its giant head around to seemingly greet its brethren. Shinji choose that opportunity to make a break for it, running toward Nev. He didn't know what he was going to do, but he needed to run away. That was the only thing he wanted to do at the moment and that was what he intended to do.  
When the Angel turned its attention back toward Shinji and saw him running toward the Nerv entrance, it made no movement or showed any indication of following after him. Because of the intense mental stress he was under, what with the fact that the Angel was right behind him and saw him running away, Shinji's legs didn't move as fast as he wanted them to move.  
They felt heavy and was being hindered by the knee-high water level.  
To his utter shock and surprise, he ended up tripping over his own feet and falling right in to the water, sliding a short distance to a stop. This made Shinji suddenly realize that perhaps seeing a girl trip while running away from a killer at the movies wasn't so laughable since it was happening to him. The mental stress was making him unable to concentrate. That seemed to rather contradict things since the adrenaline coursing through his body should've given him a heightened sense of awareness and concentration. Unfortunately, it seemed like the mental stress overwhelmed whatever adrenaline could provide.  
He turned around so that he was on his backside, propped up by his arms but facing the Angel.  
When the Angel scooted forever ever-so-slightly to help Shinji to his feet, wanting to gently close its mouth over him and pick him up, Shinji panicked and scooted backwards.  
"Get away from me!" he shouted.  
The Angel stopped, its teeth stopping mere inches from closing over Shinji's body. As if it understood exactly what Shinji had said, it proceeded to back off, scooting backwards, a massive ripple of water forming in its wake.  
Shinji watched in speechlessness as the Angel continued to scoot backwards and backwards until it could move back no more, its back ending up pressing against the farthest wall along the circular perimeter that was the GeoFront. Funnily enough, even though it reach that point, it continued to scoot backwards as if a wall wasn't there, much like the way a robot would continue to scoot backward even if something was blocking its path.  
He didn't know what to make of it. He happened to glance over toward the column of incoming seawater and caught sight of the other Angel standing there, its form hidden within the water.  
Shinji didn't need to see it to know which Angel it was. It was the Seventh Angel, the one he and Asuka had fought against that has split in to two Angels back on his world. However, on this world, the Angel was only a single entity, the way it looked before it split. It basically looked like a giant dark-green humanoid with prong-like fingers and a core right in the middle of its chest. It looked very much like the Third Angel, the very first Angel that attacked Tokyo-  
3 when he arrived here.  
Shinji stood there, wondering what the Angel was doing. The Angel didn't move. It continued to stand there, as if waiting for something.  
Is it hurt, he wondered. He assumed that that was why the Angel wasn't moving in the first place, that the impact that had occurred from the fall from the surface had damaged it and it was recuperating.  
A minute or so passed before Shinji started believe this, that the Angel was recuperating.  
Shinji glanced around and noticed the debris all over the place that used to be tanks. There was a giant trail-like indentation in the ground there Shinji could see was caused from the other Angel's extreme weight as it scooted along the ground. It eventually filled up with seawater within seconds. Among the debris, he was able to make out the vague outline of what used to be the truck. It looked like nothing more than a flat piece of metal. He was able to recognize the truck because it was merely a different color from the tanks and such.  
Shinji couldn't help but feel utterly defeated as he realized that the truck was crushed. That meant the N2 mine was crushed, along with any hopes of blowing up Nerv with it.  
Not really knowing what to do, Shinji turned around and headed in to Nerv. He hoped to God that those Angels would remain where it was and not do anything for the time being.  
He needed to talk to Misato and Ritsuko.  
Perhaps they might know what to do.  
Shinji entered the command center.  
Misato didn't take a pot shot at him like usual. Perhaps it was because she and Asuka and Ritsuko were both gazing in wide-mouthed shock at the giant screen that the command center overlooked.  
"Guys!" Shinji said, "We're in big trouble!" "I-is the other Angel in GeoFront?" Misato gulped, praying that she wasn't seeing what she was seeing. MAGI indicated that there were now two Angels within GeoFront.  
Shinji reluctantly nodded, "Unfortunately, yes, there are,"  
"Oh man, this is really bad," Asuka commented.  
"Yes, it is," Shinji added, "To make matters worse, the first Angel crushed the truck that contained the N2 mine. The N2 mine was crushed as well,"  
Misato sighed, "Man, I wish an N2 mine was what it was, a damn mine, so that weight would've set it off. Unfortunately, that isn't the case,"  
"W-what are we gonna do?" Shinji asked, dying to hear of an answer.  
Everyone in the room was silent.  
"We're out of ideas," Misato said, "The N2 mine was our last and only hope,"  
Shinji said nothing. He hated to but he had to agree with Misato with something like that. They were basically done for. There was nothing that could be done.  
"Please say that you have, through some form of miracle, gotten through MAGI and reprogrammed it," Shinji said in a pleading voice toward Ritsuko.  
Ritsuko was silent for a moment before she said, "I'm sorry, but that'll never be the case. I don't have enough time. The command center will be below water well before I can reprogram MAGI,"  
Shinji sighed. He wanted to break something really badly. He was so frustrated. How could things have gone so wrong in so little time?  
He rested his back against a console and slid to the floor.  
"I'm out of ideas," he said sadly, "All is lost. We might as well give up,"  
"T-there's gotta be a way!" Misato neared the brink of tears. Shinji had been the column of support for her and she believed he would be the last person to give up hope. Seeing him giving up hope was extremely demoralizing, especially to someone that was depending on him for moral support.  
Shinji chuckled, "What way? We've got two Angels just outside Nerv. We've got no time to blow up Nerv. Even if we do, we've got no way of plugging up that hole to bide us enough time. And not only that, we've got no control over the Angel. Even if the Angels weren't here, we are still screwed since there's no way to stop the incoming water. The Angels being in GeoFront just makes a hopeless situation all the more hopeless,"  
The room became deathly silent.  
"We've only got one course of action left," Shinji said, getting back up to his feet.  
"And what is that?" Ritsuko asked.  
"We give up on this world," he said, "I'll open a portal and bring you guys back with me,"  
"What's gonna happen to this world?" Misato asked, worried about what she was going to hear.  
"It's going to be destroyed when the Angels succeed," Shinji said, "Humanity will cease to exist on this world. You guys will become the only surviving members from this world,"  
All three girls said nothing.  
"W-we can't let that happen," Misato said, "We can't let this world be destroyed,"  
"What the hell am I supposed to do?" Shinji shouted, "Kill the Angel with my bare hands? And not just one Angel, but two of them! Have you seen them? The aquatic one is literally the size of a aircraft supercarrier. The other one is as big as an EVA! How am I to defeat these kinda beings?"  
"B-but you can't die," she added.  
"That won't help for anything!" he answered, "I have nothing that can physically hurt an Angel! All I have are a buncha rocks!"  
"Have you tried throwing them at the Angels?" Ritsuko asked.  
Shinji's eyes twitched, "Me? Throwing rocks at an Angel? How the heck are my rocks going to hurt when N2 mines don't hurt them?"  
"I'm just trying to think of anything," Ritsuko said, "For all we know, maybe you might have some special ability that you don't know about that perhaps allows your projectiles to have special properties. Keep in mind that you can throw coins able to penetrate body armor. Maybe it isn't because you throw them that hard but because they have special properties,"  
"It couldn't hurt to try," Misato added.  
Shinji hung his head low.  
"All right, I'll try," he said, "I can't believe it's come to this,"  
Shinji headed out of the command center.  
Shinji laughed to himself as he walked down the corridor toward the entrance.  
He was sure that Ranma had never been in such a situation as hopeless as this. Shinji's only course of action was throwing rocks at an Angel. Talk about crazy and hopeless. He paused.  
Wait, Ranma has been in hopeless situations like this before, Shinji realized. Ranma was stabbed through the heart with the Lance of Longinus from behind and had to kill seven Angels by himself. Somehow, through impossible odds, he had managed to overcome those odds. Sure, it was at the expense of his life, but the outcome could've been far worse had he not overcome those odds.  
"So what the heck does that mean?" he asked himself, "Am I supposed to sacrifice myself like Ranma did to get outta a hopeless situation? Heck, I can't even do that! I have to survive this or all of existence is at jeopardy and not just a world's humanity,"  
He sighed.  
He climbed over the debris as he headed toward the entrance. He stopped for a moment and glanced over toward the giant slab of rob that had pinned him underwater not too long ago. He was very confused as to how he had managed to get the rock up in the first place. He remembered struggling as hard as he could to lift the rock off himself, much to no avail. However, at the very last second, right as he was about to black out from lack of oxygen, he seemed to have shoved the rock off himself, as if he had summoned some kind of hidden reserve of strength he never knew he had.  
And judging by the looks of things, he seemed to have shoved the rock because it was laying by the far end of the corridor, as if it had been precariously thrown.  
He couldn't help but notice several puncture holes in the rock but thought nothing of it. "What the heck? They look like giant teeth marks," he commented.  
After a moment, he dismissed the thought.  
Climbing over the debris and wading his way through the rising water, Shinji exited Nerv where he looked over toward where the two Angels were. They were doing the same thing as when he left before. One Angel continued to scoot backwards in to the GeoFront wall while the other just stood right where it was.  
Shinji scratched his head, "I wonder why the heck that Angel is doing that? It should just stop since it isn't going to go anywhere,"  
The Angel suddenly stopped scooting backwards.  
This confused Shinji.  
"Huh?" he scratched his head, "That's strange. It suddenly stopped the moment when I said it should stop..."  
Shinji's eyes widened.  
"N-no way!" he gasped.  
He turned his attention toward the Angel on the far end of GeoFront.  
"Come over here," he motioned.  
To his utter shock, the Angel actually proceeded to scoot along the ground toward him. Believing it was a pure coincidence, Shinji said, "Stop!"  
The Angel stopped.  
Shinji turned toward the humanoid Angel hidden inside the column of incoming seawater, "You, kill that Angel," He pointed toward the aquatic Angel.  
The humanoid Angel did nothing. It didn't move. This led Shinji to believe that it was perhaps too badly damaged from the fall to respond. "Wait, perhaps that's why the other Angel didn't respond at first," Shinji said.  
Shinji glanced toward the aquatic Angel and pointed toward the humanoid Angel.  
"Kill that Angel!" he said.  
He watched as the aquatic Angel seemingly did what it was told. It scooted over to where its brethren was. Without any form of hesitation, it opened up its massive mouth and bit down on the Angel. It then lifted its head, Angel still in its mouth, half of its body within and half without, and began to violently shake its head back and forth, much like the way a crocodile would bite in to something before wringing it back and forth.  
Shinji couldn't help but feel a queasy feeling as he saw the humanoid Angel being ripped to shreds, the half of the Angel body torn right off and falling to the ground with thunderous force.  
He watched as the aquatic Angel actually tilted its head back and opened its mouth, as if to swallow the Angel. When the part of the body of the Angel that gored in its teeth feel down in to its mouth and disappeared, Shinji realized that it did just that, that it was proceeding to eat the hapless humanoid Angel.  
He watched as the Angel went about devouring the other half what was left of the torn Angel, chewing it a few times before swallowing it as well.  
It took no more than ten seconds for the aquatic Angel to devour the human Angel. When it was done, it stopped what it was doing, as if waiting its next command. It didn't even seem to react at all to the fact Shinji didn't do anything for a good couple of minutes, trying to comprehend what he had just seen.  
After a minute or so, he said, "Turn around in a circle,"  
The Angel did just as it was told, proceeding to scoot around in a circular fashion. It looked very much like a dog chasing its own tail.  
"Stop!" he shouted.  
The Angel stopped what it was doing.  
"Kill yourself!" he said, wanting to know for sure, without a shadow of a doubt, that none of all of this was a coincidence.  
Without hesitation, the Angel grew to twice its size, as if suddenly becoming bloated. A second later, it self-destructed. A massive explosion ensued, so large and powerful that the shockwave sent Shinji flying through the air where he landed a good distance away from the blast. Luckily for him, he wasn't hurt. He was definitely shocked, but he wasn't at all hurt. When the smoke cleared up, the only trace of the Angel was this giant crater over by where the column of incoming seawater was, slowly filling up as seawater flowed in to it.  
The blast was intensely powerful, but because the Angel had been so far away, the explosion never reached Shinji. Perhaps it was because GeoFront was a confined area that it made it seem like the Angel was a lot closer than expected. The blast looked to have been no more powerful than an eight of the power of the N2 mine set off short after he arrived on this world.  
"Holy shit!" Shinji gasped. He finally realized that it really wasn't a coincidence that the Angel was doing what he told it to do. The fact that it seemed to kill the other Angel upon Shinji's command was probably good enough but it killing itself afterwards confirmed Shinji's assumption one hundred percent.  
He couldn't believe his luck. He could control the Angels!  
Shinji ran back in to Nerv to tell the others about the amazing discovery he had found out. As he climbed back over the debris he glanced over at the rock. Seeing the teeth mark suddenly made him realize something, that the marks on the rock was actually the teeth marks from that aquatic Angel. That was why the Angel was so close to Nerv when he managed to gasp for air.  
Shinji couldn't help be feel a sense of sadness as he realized what he had done.  
He had just killed the Angel that helped him.

Shinji entered the command center.  
"Guys, I've got good news!" he had a big smile on his face. Now that it was determined that he could summon and control the Angels that he summoned, they seemed to be in much better position than they believed. Having the Angels on Shinji's side meant a huge weight lifted from his shoulders.  
Misato approached Shinji, "We know. The two Angels are gone. All thanks to you,"  
Without saying another world, she placed both her hands on Shinji's cheeks and gave him a passionate kiss. Shinji's body froze, unable to comprehend what was going on.  
"What the hell are you doing!" Ritsuko shouted at Misato. "Hey!" Asuka shouted very loudly. She looked down at the gun in her hands and contemplated shooting Misato in the head. Of course, she chose against it.  
When Misato broke the kiss, Shinji had this dazed look on his face.  
"Sorry, but I couldn't help it," Misato said warmly, "I have no idea how you defeated those Angel, but you did an I had to kiss you for it,"  
Shinji tried to say something but was at a loss of words.  
"You're sick, Misato," Ritsuko said, "What are you, some kind of pedophile? He's fourteen!"  
"No, he's not," Misato answered, "This is the future version of Shinji we are supposed to know so that's perfectly fine,"  
"What kinda logic is that? That's still sick," Ritsuko said.  
"You're old! How can you kiss Shinji like that!" Asuka said.  
"What did you say?" Misato's eyes widened, "I'm not old!"  
"Compared to someone like myself you are!" Asuka said.  
"What the heck's going on here?" Shinji tried to say.  
"So what? You're just a little girl," Misato commented, "Me, I'm a woman,"  
"Ha, judging by the way you act, I beg to differ," Asuka snapped.  
Shinji pinched the bridge of his nose, "W-what the heck just happened here?"  
Ritsuko, wanting to get things under control, asked, "Shinji, what happened out there? MAGI indicates that both Angels were defeated,"  
"Um, yeah," Shinji nodded, scratching his head, "They were defeated. I think I defeated them," Of course, he wasn't too sure if it was really him. Perhaps indirectly, he defeated them.  
"How'd it happen?" Misato asked, very curious, forgetting her argument with Asuka.  
Shinji took a step away from her, a bit cautious. Sure, the kiss did feel nice, but it made him seriously confused. Besides, he was in love with Emiko and nothing was going to change that and he wanted to make that perfectly clear.  
"Sorry," Misato waved a dismissive hand, "I guess I got caught up in the moment. You have no ideas how happy I was. I guess, um, I got a little too happy,"  
Shinji stood where he was for several moments, wondering if he should trust what she said. After a moment, he cleared his throat, "Well, let's just hope that doesn't happen again. Keep in mind that I have someone else back home. I don't want to create some kinda misunderstanding,"  
He glanced out of the corner of his eye. He couldn't help but notice Asuka seemingly disappointed his comment.  
This can not be happening, he thought. There's no way Asuka could possibly have some kinda crush on me. There's no way. The Asuka I know can't seem to stand the sight of me. This Asuka is the exact same one as the one I know so there's no way something like this could be possible.  
"Um, let's just pretend that never happened," he said.  
"Okay," Misato said, smiling slightly, "Don't get me wrong, Shinji. I like you. Try not to misunderstand, that kiss was just something done on the spur of the moment,"  
Shinji said, "Um, okay. I'll believe you,"  
Ritsuko cleared her throat, "Anyway, back on to the subject, how'd you go about defeating the Angels?"  
Shinji was grateful for the change in subject, "I found out that I really do control the Angels,"  
"How so?" Ritsuko asked, "That still doesn't explain how you defeated both of those Angels,"  
"I had one Angel kill the other one and then kill itself," he smiled He went on to explain everything that had happened. He mentioned about how he was pretty sure one of the Angels saved his life by lifting that massive slab of rock that was pinning him underwater. He then went on to explain how he seemed to notice that the Angel suddenly responded to what he said.  
"How's that possible? You tried to make the Angel respond to you and do what you wanted it to do but it did nothing," Misato commented, "That doesn't make sense,"  
Shinji said, "It think I know why. The Angel didn't respond initially because it was damaged from the drop from the surface. It was probably regenerating from the damage it sustained so it wasn't able to respond until after it finally regenerated itself back to health,"  
"Hm, now that I think of it, you have a point," Misato said, "It can probably explain why the Angel didn't readily attack Nerv. If the Angel can actually move on land like even though it's meant to move around underwater, it could've easily attacked Nerv right after entering GeoFront. But because it got damaged in that fall, it had to spend all its time regenerating,"  
He nodded, "Right. That's what I believe as well. It makes sense. When I tried to have the other Angel respond to me, it didn't. That's because it was regenerating after that initial fall as well,"  
"Did they respond to your voice or to your thoughts?" Ritsuko asked.  
Shinji shrugged, "I'm not too sure. It responded to my voice, that's for sure. I never tried to find out if they actually responded to my thoughts. Keep in mind that I was just shocked at what was happening and never thought that far ahead,"  
"Have you found anything else out?" she asked.  
Shinji smiled, "Yeah, I also found out that I can't get hurt anymore,"  
"What are you talking about?" Misato asked.  
"I got shot probably several hundred times," he answered, "But I felt nothing. I didn't feel any of the bullets hit me,"  
"Are you sure?" she asked.  
"Yeah," he nodded, "I'm definitely sure. Look at my clothes. They're all messed up from all those bullets hitting me. They're tearing through my clothes but not hurting me,"  
"I was about to ask you about that, your clothes being all torn up," Misato commented.  
Shinji walked over to one of the unconscious guards by the command center entrance. He proceeded to check through them for someone that was around his size.  
"What are you doing?" Ritsuko asked.  
"I'm just looking for someone my size," Shinji said, "I need a new change of clothes. What's weird is that when I was getting shot, the bullets were actually passing through me. That's my clothes are so messed up on both sides, the bullets were going in one side and coming out the other. That's very strange,"  
"How's that strange?" Ritsuko was confused, "Your powers are probably finally kicking in,"  
Shinji stripped one of the guards of his clothes and quickly excused himself, heading for the nearby restroom. He entered a few minutes later clad in different clothes.  
"What was I saying before?" he said, "Oh yeah, my powers. It seems as if my power are kicking in all weird. If I'm to eventually have powers similar to Ranma, then bullets should bounce off me or something like that, not pass through me. I remember a while back when I was dealing with the God-version of Ranma and seeing him hit with things and it not passing through him like it did for me. If it did, ki-blasts would've gone through him and just incinerated his clothes and such but it didn't,"  
"Maybe projectiles will eventually start deflecting off you," Ritsuko commented, "Keep in mind your powers are finally starting to surface,"  
"I guess," Shinji said, "Man, it would be nice to know when my strength starts kicking in. That would be really useful. I nearly drowned because I couldn't lift a rock. It fell on me when I was getting shot and the entrance way collapsed right above me,"  
"How heavy was the rock?" Misato asked.  
"I dunno, probably around ten tons," he said as if it were nothing, "I couldn't even budge it,"  
"Hm, perhaps it was because it weighed around twenty thousand pounds!" Misato said, "Do you have any idea how heavy that is?"  
"I know it's heavy but it's really strange," Shinji said, "These powers of mine seem to be showing up just fine but my strength seems to increase only slowly,"  
"Well, didn't you say your strength increases every time you heal?" Misato asked, "If you were getting shot left and right, then you should've gotten incredibly strong for when that rock fell on you,"  
"If that were true, then I should've gotten plenty strong over that short period of time to lift that weight," Shinji commented, "But I didn't. It's as if something else is triggering my strength to get stronger but I dunno what. I keep trying to envision myself stronger but that doesn't seem to help. It's as if I don't understand fully how to 'will' something to work, that being my body. I keep thinking of myself able to shoot ki-blasts but it never seems to happen. The same thing goes for my strength increasing,"  
"Perhaps you shouldn't think like that," Asuka said, silent until now, scratching her chin.  
"Huh? Whatcha mean?" Shinji asked her in confusion.  
"Perhaps you should not try and 'will' yourself to be stronger," the young girl said, "Perhaps you have to go about it in a different way,"  
"Can you explain?" he still didn't understand what Asuka was saying.  
Asuka said, "Perhaps rather than 'will' yourself to be stronger, 'will' for something to be lighter,"  
The room became silent.  
"Whoa, I never thought of that before," Shinji said.  
"When I was with you and you were trying to tilt that car over, I remember you saying aloud something along the lines of how the car should start tilting," Asuka commented, "When you were trying before, you weren't able to tilt it because it was resting against a telephone pole. When you made that comment, it tilted. Perhaps rather than trying to envision yourself getting stronger, you need to envision other things to accommodate you rather than the other way around,"  
Shinji walked over and picked up a gun from the stockpile that had built up nearby from Misato constantly collecting from the guards that she took out.  
He tried squeezing it in his hands. Unfortunately, he wasn't physically strong enough to use his gripping power alone to crush a gun. "Okay, right now, I'm trying to picture myself stronger but that doesn't seem to work," Shinji said, trying to test out Asuka's theory.  
Everyone watched, wondering what Shinji was up to.  
"Okay, now, I'll picture the metal around the gun being very malleable," he said, thinking just that.  
When he squeezed his hand, the gun broke in to pieces.  
Shinji's eyes widened, "Oh my god! It works! It really works!"  
Everyone cheered. It was as if the extreme problems Shinji had to go through were finally starting to change in to good fortune.  
Shinji grabbed Asuka and picked her up, "Thank you! Thank you for realizing that!" When he realized what he was doing, he put her down, "Sorry,"  
Asuka blushed a deep shade of red, "Um, n-no problem,"  
"Man, it seems like things are finally starting to look up for us," Shinji smiled, "Man, if I knew about all of this, like the fact that the Angels would've helped us out all this time, it would've made everything so much easier,"  
"But didn't you try and 'will' to Angels for help then?" Misato asked.  
Shinji shook his head, "No, not until just recently. Keep in mind that I, like everyone else, thought that the Angels were here for other reasons. It seems like they're here all because of me,"  
"Y-you think that could mean that they're here solely for you? And not to cause Third Impact?" Misato dared to ask.  
"I think that could be it," Shinji said, "I think it's safe to think that. If they were here to cause Third Impact, then the Angel that saved could've easily caused Third Impact. I remember being face-to-face with it and it did nothing, as if it was waiting for me to command it. Why would it have just waited when it could've just went on to break in to Nerv to cause Third Impact,"  
"Wow, if that's true, then-" Ritsuko began.  
"Right, that means we don't have to worry about Third Impact," Shinji interrupted.  
"This is great!" everyone cheered.  
Shinji couldn't help but feel a great great sense of relief.  
"It seems like things have turned a hundred and eighty degrees, everything now in our favor," he smiled.  
"Well, now that we know that, we still have Nerv to worry about," Ritsuko said, "What are we going to do about the other Angels to come? We should still destroy Nerv and Lilith along with it, to eliminate the possibility of there being a Third Impact,"  
"I guess you're right," Shinji said, "If we're gonna worry about that, then we need to worry about plugging up that hole to stop the water,"  
"Why dontcha just will the hole to seal up?" Asuka suggested.  
Shinji smirked, "That won't work. I actually tried that. Perhaps it'll just be a matter of time before I actually can do that. I have a funny feeling that even though I now understand how my strength comes about, I still can't lift overly heavy objects. My powers are surfacing and it's just a matter of time before I start really understanding them,"  
"So what should we do about plugging the hole up?" Misato asked, "If the hole isn't going to plug itself up, then we must do something about it,"  
Shinji smirked, "I've got a good idea,"  
"What?" everyone asked.  
"I'll just summon another Angel and have it shift the aircraft supercarrier from sea and in to the crater so it'll help clog it up. It won't stop the water coming in completely, but it should definitely slow it down enough for Ritsuko to complete her job,"  
"That's a good idea," Misato said.  
Shinji paused to think. After a minutes, the command center was bathed in a red light as an incoming Angel was detected.  
"Wow, so that was really you, huh? You summoned that Angel," Misato couldn't help but be amazed. Actually, everyone else was impressed.  
"And this is no ordinary Angel either," he said, "I summoned a special Angel,"  
"What do you mean?" Misato asked.  
"I summoned Ranma,"

Shinji and Asuka emerged from Nerv and waited patiently for the arrival of the Angel that Shinji expected, an Angel that looked exactly like Ranma but wasn't necessarily him.  
Misato and Ritsuko weren't there, the two of them still in the command center, Misato keeping vigil while Ritsuko continued to reprogram MAGI.  
The Angel arrived in GeoFront, choosing to enter through the opening in the GeoFront ceiling. Upon first seeing the Angel, Shinji couldn't help but feel a sense of resentment, relief, and confusion at the same time. This was because the Angel looked exactly like Ranma when he had wings.  
Shinji just regarded the Angel for several moments. Asuka regarded the Angel, not knowing what to do.  
"First things first, I'm gonna give you a name," Shinji said, feeling very awkward. This was because it really felt as if he was really talking to Ranma. Deep down inside, he knew that this Angel wasn't Ranma. However, deep down inside, he really wanted the Angel to really be him so he could just break down and cry over all the trials that he had to endure to reach this point.  
"If you wish, Kami-sama," the Angel responded, "What name would you like to give me?"  
"I'm gonna call you...Ranma," Shinji said after a long pause, "Um, please, call me Shinji,"  
"All right," the Angel named Ranma said.  
"The name means a lot," he said, "Don't shame it,"  
"I won't," Ranma said.  
Shinji regarded Ranma for several long minutes. He wanted to tell Ranma everything so badly but he knew it would be useless. He wanted to ask the Angel could never answer. He could only get the answers from the real Ranma. "I hate you for what you've put me through," Shinji wanted to say, "I hate you for throwing this in my face and making me have to deal with it all alone. I hate you for killing everyone. I hate you for letting yourself get corrupted. Why do I hafta go through this?"  
Shinji never said those words. Saying those words were useless.  
"Does, um, is that was Ranma really looks like?" Asuka asked, wondering why Shinji was silent for so long, wanting to break the silence.  
"Yeah," Shinji said softly, his thoughts elsewhere.  
The Angel cast a glance toward Asuka, wondering who she was or why she was there. Since she seemed to be of no harm or immediate threat to Shinji, then he would do nothing in return.  
"Um, I'm a good friend of Shinji's," Asuka said, blushing slightly. She wondered if saying 'good friend' was pushing it. The Angel said nothing, continuing to regard her.  
"She's my friend," Shinji said to Ranma, "Um, look out for her like you would, um, look out for me,"  
"Very well," Ranma replied. Shinji was silent. It was so weird. The Angel sounded like Ranma but didn't quite speak like him. Rather, it seemed to be Ranma only on a extremely superficial aspect only looking like him and nothing else.  
Asuka regarded the Angel for a while. She had to admit that that if this Ranma person really did look like that Angel, then he was quite a handsome man. However, she didn't understand what was so special about that man that would make all the girls in that picture Shinji showed her seem to like him. Surely women couldn't be that superficial and like a guy purely on his looks.  
"I have a task for you," Shinji said.  
"What would you like me to do?" Ranma asked.  
"I need you to plug that hole up," Shinji said, pointing toward the opening in GeoFront's ceiling, "There's a aircraft supercarrier just around five miles out to sea from Tokyo-3's shoreline,"  
"What about that aircraft supercarrier? What would you like me to do about it?" Ranma asked.  
"Find a way to commandeer it and get it stuck in the hole," Shinji said, "I need to have the hole plugged up. Um, if you have problems, come back to me and ask me,"  
"I'll do as you command," Ranma said before leaping up in to the air and heading toward the column of water, disappearing in to it and proceeding to fly upward through it toward the surface.  
When the Angel was gone, Asuka turned toward Shinji.  
"So, that's Ranma, huh?" she asked.  
Shinji shook his head, "No. He just looks like him,"  
"How come you summoned, um, him in particular?" she asked curiously, "There doesn't look to be anything special about him,"  
"Well, if I can summon Angels, then I summoned the most powerful one of them all," Shinji said.  
"H-he's the most powerful of them all?" Asuka's eyes widened.  
Shinji nodded, "Yeah. The Ranma I know, before all of this happen, could defeat all the Angels we've encountered on his own. This particular Angel, the one that looks like him, is his equal if not better. In a sense, sending this particular Angel out to do that task is equivalent to sending out Ranma himself to do it,"  
"You think the Angel will succeed?" Asuka asked, still wondering what was so special about that Ranma person that her alternate self seem to have a crush on him. He looked old, much too old for a young girl to have any feelings toward. But then again, she was fourteen afterall.  
"Probably," Shinji commented, "Ranma's a really competent person. If this Angel's even half as competent, then it's most likely the Angel will succeed as well,"  
"Man, you're making this Ranma person out to be some kind superhero," Asuka commented, "Surely no one can be that good,"  
Shinji shrugged, "Heh, you'll be surprised,"  
"Well, I think the way you go about things is very well done," Asuka commented, "You do thing very well. I may not know much about this Ranma person and only heard about him from what you've told me, but it seems like you do things just as well as he does,"  
Shinji smiled slightly, "Thanks,"  
"So, what should we do now?" she asked.  
He turned around and proceeded to head in to Nerv.  
"We need to go and find everyone in Nerv and evacuate them," he said, "All the people that have been knocked out, we need to get them to safety. Nerv's gonna blow up several hours from now so we don't want anyone up being blown up with it,"  
"Okay," she said as she followed Shinji.  
Shinji paused by the giant slab of rock.  
"What's up?" she asked curiously.  
"Hold up," he said, "I wanna try something,"  
Asuka watched as Shinji walked over to where the giant rock slab with teeth-  
marks were. She watched as he attempted to lift it with all his might, much to no avail. "Well, I guess that proves my point," Shinji said.  
"What point?" she asked.  
"Even though I now know how to lift heavy objects, it's still restricted," he said, "I guess I can only lift up to a certain weight through 'willing' a object to be lighter. However, it seems like my powers aren't strong enough that I could 'will' any object to be light,"  
"It'll show up all in due time," she commented.  
"I hope so,"

new stuff 12/22

"What's up?" Shinji asked, entering the command center.  
Shinji and Asuka were in the process of evacuating Nerv when they heard Ritsuko's voice over the interior speaker system requesting their presence. Only around a half-hour had passed since they had gone about doing so before they were summoned.  
"I just wanted to ask you about the status of the evacuation and give you an update on what's going on," Ritsuko said.  
"Well, the evacuation's going fine," he said, "It's going to take a while before I get everyone out of here, what with the fact that everyone was unconscious. All the people that weren't knocked out seems to have evacuated already. I guess they evacuated sometime around the time when the Angel first entered GeoFront. I guess that's why the army started moving in, since they probably believe all of Nerv's been taken over by just the four of us what with the fact that there is no response to incoming calls from them,"  
Ritsuko smiled, "That's a very good assumption because you're right. I listened in on military communications and that seemed to be the case. The military had executed a double operation. One was to destroy that aquatic Angel using the N2 mine while it was also to storm Nerv and take it back by force,"  
Misato gulped, "Really? We would've been in real trouble..."  
"Yes," Shinji said, "I guess things worked out for the better and we were in the right place in the right time,"  
"Also, I've got good news," Ritsuko said.  
Shinji smiled, "Really? Like what?"  
"It seems the Angel did his job," Ritsuko said, "Because the hole was plugged up,"  
"R-really?" he asked. He had been wondering if the Angel was going to succeed or not but hadn't anticipated him to succeed and so quickly. Ritsuko walked over to the console and pushed a few buttons. It displayed an image of the Angel entering GeoFront from the tunnel, casually walking but seemingly walking with a purpose.  
"It seems the hole was plugged up completely," Ritsuko commented, "So much so that we don't hafta worry about the incoming seawater whatsoever anymore and he needed to get back to Nerv via the tunnel,"  
Shinji was silent for several long moments before he said, "H-h-how? How did he managed to do that?"  
"You're telling me," Ritsuko said, pressing a button to display a shot of the plugged up hole in the ceiling, "But judging from what we see on the screen, the Angel's definitely succeeded. He's on his way here to meet up with you I guess,"  
"I think he's coming here to find out what your next request is," Misato commented.  
Shinji scratched his head, "And what request would that be? I didn't realize Ranma would carry out his mission so quickly. What I'm going to do is definitely ask him how the heck he managed to go about doing what he did,"  
Misato smiled, "Hey, now that Ranma's free to carry out another request, maybe you can ask him for help in evacuating Nerv,"  
"You're right, I never thought of that," he said smiling happily, "That'll make our job much easier,"  
"It seems like everything is finally starting to look good," Misato commented, "Heck, at this rate, you can even relax for a bit, a first in a long time,"  
Shinji smiled, "You're right. Finally, it seems like all the bad things that could've happened, happened, and now only good things could happen from here on out,"  
He sat down on a chair, eager to just enjoy a moment to relax. A second after sitting down, Shinji shouted in pain, falling off the chair and clutching at his private area, rolling around on the floor in a fetal position.  
It seems Shinji accidentally sat on his balls.  
Misato smirked.  
"Heh, it seems like he spoke too soon,"

"God, it must suck being a guy," Misato commented,  
"Ha ha," Shinji said, a bit annoyed, wondering when Misato was going to quit teasing him. She had been teasing him for the past ten minutes.  
"I mean what are the chances of something like that happening?" she continued, "Man, having to worry about something like that you'd figure guys would've developed a fear of chairs over the course of their life,"  
"All right, I think that's enough teasing for one day," Shinji said with a wry look.  
Misato smirked.  
At that moment, Ranma entered the command center.  
"Ranma, you're back," Shinji said, grateful for the Angel's arrival.  
"I did as you expected and plugged up that hole," the Angel commented.  
Shinji scratched his head, "I noticed. But, um, exactly how did you go about doing such a task and in such a short time?"  
"I found the aircraft supercarrier located just off the short like you said," Ranma replied, "I pushed it over to where the hole was so it got sucked down and got stuck,"  
"P-pushed it? How the heck did you managed to push it?" Shinji gasped, "The propulsion system needed for one of those things are in excess of a quarter million horsepower!"  
The Angel seemed confused about the comment.  
"Um, go on," he said.  
"Once it got sucked down, I melted it," the Angel said, "I used an energy blast and it generated enough heat to melt it and fill up the hole completely,"  
The room was silent. They couldn't believe what they were hearing.  
"What would you like me to do next?" the Angel asked, awaiting his next command.  
"Um, what happened to everyone that were on the ship?" Shinji asked.  
"They escaped when I was pushing the ship toward the hole," the Angel said, "What, did you want me to kill them all?"  
Shinji quickly shook his head, "No. Not at all. It was good that no one died,"  
"What would you like me to do next?" the Angel asked again.  
Everyone looked at one another.  
Shinji gave a shy smile, "Um, can you please help me evacuate Nerv Headquarters?"  
"Very well,"

Evacuating Nerv was a lot easier than expected. This was because, as stated earlier, most of it was evacuated when the Angel entered GeoFront. This was because Gendo and Fuyutsuki weren't around to keep everything under control, what with Gendo being still unconscious and Fuyutsuki locked up. Nerv personnel didn't know what to do when there was no one to command them so they left their posts and evacuated.  
The unconscious guards and soldiers lying all over the place as an entirely different matter. Shinji had to basically search every room in all of Nerv and carry each unconscious body out of Nerv, he having forgotten which rooms he hid the bodies as he snuck around Nerv.  
With Ranma there to help, Shinji managed to evacuate all of Nerv after a few hours. This was because over the course of time, the military executed an operation to storm Nerv around an hour after the first failure and the Angel was sent off to deal with it. With no loss of life, Shinji having requested that, the Angel easily handling whatever the military could send, making them retreat in defeat.  
When it was Gendo's turn to be carried out of Nerv unconsciously, Shinji smirked. He couldn't help but feel some form of pity for that man. He knew Gendo did all of this all so he could see his wife again. However, in Shinji's eyes, the ends doesn't justify the means. If that were the case, Shinji would've abandoned this world and just went to Germany long ago to steal Unit-01. He wondered if he was as different from Gendo as he expected. He had hurt many people in his quest to get his hands on Unit-01. As long as he got his hands on Unit-01, did the ends justify the means?  
"I don't care," Shinji said as he dragged Gendo down the corridor, "I still hate you,"  
The last person to be evacuated from Nerv was none other than Rei. This was because he didn't want to disturb Rei and more than he needed to. Besides, he had merely held off on the inevitable.  
"Um, hey," he said shortly after he entered her room.  
Rei just regarded him silently.  
"I came here to help you evacuate Nerv," he said.  
"Why?" she asked softly.  
"Um, the commander asked for it," he said.  
"Where is he?" she asked.  
"Um, he evacuated as well," Shinji said half-truthfully.  
Shinji watched as Rei got up out of her bed, turning his gaze away when the bed sheets fell to reveal that she was naked. He waited in awkward patience as she got dressed in the clothes that was neatly folded on the chair near the bed.  
"I'm ready," she said after she was dressed.  
"Cool," Shinji gave a meek smile, "Just follow me. We'll get you out of here and to safety in no time,"  
"Why are we being evacuated?" she asked curiously. She wasn't aware off all that had occurred.  
"Um, terrorists have taken over Nerv and everyone's lives are in danger," Shinji lied.  
He couldn't help but feel very bad that he was lying to Rei.

Shinji and Rei moved across GeoFront and toward the tunnel.  
Rei didn't seem to show any inclination of curiosity on why the two of them were treading through knee-high water as they crossed GeoFront toward the tunnel that led topside. She didn't seem to pay any attention to the Angel with the wings running back and forth carrying six unconscious bodies at the time Shinji had asked Ranma to try and carry out the double task of bringing everyone topside while keeping vigil on the next incoming military attack of Nerv. "Um, he's carrying everyone topside and dropping them off by the tunnel exit," Shinji commented.  
He was grateful that Rei didn't happen to spot Gendo being carried unconsciously by the Angel when the Angel went by them. When they reached topside and Rei saw Gendo lying unconsciously on the sidewalk, she rushed to his side.  
"What happened?" she asked Shinji.  
Shinji gave a meek smile, "Um, I really dunno,"  
Without saying another word, he quickly left her alone to tend to Gendo and ran back down the tunnel. He couldn't bare to see Rei pained at the sight of seeing Gendo seemingly hurt and unconscious. She had no idea what was going on and had some form of connection toward Gendo so it was obvious she would be bothered at the sight of him.  
Once back down at GeoFront, Shinji was approached by Ranma, Ranma having finished his task of carrying everyone up out of GeoFront. Because Nerv hadn't gotten attacked once since the last time, Ranma had carried his task out very quickly and efficiently.  
The two of them found themselves standing in front of Nerv, the entire structure of Nerv empty save for Ritsuko and Misato and Asuka, them still in the command center. It was eerily quiet as they stood there in the calm knee-high water.  
"What would you like me to do next?" Ranma asked.  
Shinji shrugged.  
"We wait," he said, "That's all we can do. We wait for Ritsuko to reprogram MAGI so we can self-destruct Nerv. After that, I'm heading for Germany to get Unit-01. Frankly, after all I've been through, I can't wait to get off this world,"

new stuff 12/24

Shinji and Ranma stood outside Nerv.  
Actually, the stood on top of the debris that used to be Nerv's entrance where it was dry. It was better than standing in the knee-high seawater.  
They had a few hours to kill before Ritsuko would be finished with her reprogramming. In the meanwhile, they just waited for anything to happen so they could take care of it. It was most likely the military would try and attack Nerv one more time.  
"Um," Shinji said.  
The Angel turned toward Shinji, "Yes?"  
"You said you pushed that aircraft supercarrier in to the hole to plug it up," Shinji began, "That must mean you're very strong,"  
"It is all a matter of opinion," Ranma said, "Compared to you, I am nothing,"  
Shinji was silent. "Your powers are infinite where mine is not," Ranma continued.  
"If my powers are supposedly infinite, then it's kinda weird why I can't lift something really heavy," Shinji commented, jerking a thumb toward a particular rock, "For instance, I tried lifting that slab of rock and I can't,"  
The Angel regarded the rock, "Why not?"  
Shinji shrugged, "I have no idea. It seems like that aspect of my powers haven't surfaced yet. And what sucks is that that's the most important power I need,"  
"It seems like it'll come in time," Ranma said, "Some aspects of your powers surface at different times. It will most likely take years before you fully understand how to use your powers naturally,"  
"Years is what I don't have," Shinji commented, "Naturally? What do you mean by that?"  
"You can use your powers on yourself to make yourself more powerful," Ranma said.  
"I can?"  
"Yes, your powers are infinite," Ranma said, "You can do whatever you want,"  
"How do I do it?" Shinji asked.  
"I don't know," Ranma answered, "That's a power you possess that I don't,"  
Shinji sighed, "This sucks. I need the strength to lift the weapon that will kill Ranma,"  
"What do you mean?" Ranma asked.  
"The weapon I'm to use is too heavy to lift," Shinji commented, "Without the weapon, I can't kill Ranma,"  
The Angel said, "That is untrue,"  
"Huh?"  
"Whatever weapon you're talking about, you don't need it," the Angel commented, "You can kill anything with your bare hands,"  
"I can?"  
The Angel shrugged.  
"Remember, God can kill God,"  
Shinji and Ranma entered the command center sometime around the estimated time Ritsuko had asked them to come back.  
"Um, how goes everything?" Shinji asked.  
Ritsuko merged from the console, "Ah, perfect timing. I just finished,"  
"You're done reprogramming MAGI?" Shinji asked.  
Ritsuko smiled, "Yes. Just finished,"  
"So what do we do now?" Asuka asked.  
"What else, we self-destruct Nerv once and for all," Misato said, "Once Nerv is gone, we have on less thing to worry about. All we will have left to worry about is getting Unit-01 in Shinji's hands and getting rid of Adam,"  
The Angel made a sad face that no one but Shinji noticed. "We gotta figure our how to get to Germany but that shouldn't be all that much a problem," Misato commented, "We can commandeer a private plane or such from the nearby airport and fly down there. We don't really have to worry about destroying Adam since it's currently located in Germany as well where Unit-01 is,"  
"Actually, if you want, I can carry everyone and fly there," the Angel said, "We will be there within a short period of time,"  
"Ah, even better," Misato said.  
Suddenly, the command center was bathed in red light. Everyone turned their attention toward the main screen. The screen showed an image of a group of tanks heading down the tunnel toward GeoFront.  
Misato smirked, "Well, it seems like the military's decision to finally mobilize after its failure the first time around proved too late,"  
"We'll go take care of them," Shinji said, heading out of the command center, gesturing for the Angel to follow.  
When the two of them were gone, Misato scratched her head, "Why the heck did Shinji need to go? He could've just sent Ranma to do all the dirty work,"  
The tree girls were confused about that.  
Walking down the corridor and toward Nerv's entrance, Shinji turned toward the Angel.  
"I saw that sad look you gave when Misato mentioned something about getting rid of Adam," Shinji commented.  
"That's because Adam's my father," the Angel said, "If you destroy Adam, you will be destroying my father,"  
Shinji was silent. He couldn't help but feel very sorry for the Angel. He had completely forgotten that Angels came from Adam. Afterall, that was why they attacked this world in the first place, to bring their father back home.  
"But it's okay," the Angel said, "It's your will so I'll continue to do as you wish, even if it means having to destroy Adam,"  
Shinji continued to say nothing for several moments.  
"The end justify the means," he asked, not liking what he was saying.  
The Angel nodded, "Yes,"  
Shinji sighed.  
He wished it didn't have to be that way.  
Shinji and Ranma entered the command center around a half-hour since they left. This surprised the three girls because they had been watching the screen all this time and had been watching Shinji and the Angel take care of the incoming tanks.  
"You guys took care of them really fast," Misato commented with a smirk.  
"Much like the guards around Nerv back then, they have become more of an annoyance than anything else," Shinji smirked.  
"What are you to saying?" Misato chuckled, "From what we saw, Ranma did all the work,"  
Shinji blushed, "Well, I would've helped, but he seemed to have done fine without me,"  
"Well, now that they're no longer something to worry about, we can continue on with our task," Ritsuko said, "Everything is set,"  
Shinji couldn't help but feel a great sense of relief upon hearing that. He asked, "How did you do it? What did you do?"  
"I rewrote the entire operating system for MAGI," Ritsuko said, "Even if MAGI did have control over Nerv and its functions before, it doesn't anymore. Everything within Nerv was integrated with the operating system. Since I replaced that operating system, it has no more control over any of its systems. That's what took me so long. I basically rewrote the entire operating system from scratch. We don't have to worry about MAGI anymore,"  
"Well, that's good to hear. How do we self-destruct Nerv?" Shinji asked curiously, "Are we setting it off remotely? Or is it time based?"  
"It's time-based," Ritsuko said, "I set it up so we have a half-hour to get out of GeoFront. That should give us plenty of time to get a safe distance away from here,"  
Shinji nodded, "Yeah, that's plenty of time. That's more than enough time even if we bump in to another incoming army on the way up,"  
"Yes, I gave that consideration, about us running in to trouble on the way topside," Ritsuko said.  
"Before we head out, we should make one last thorough check-through of Nerv to make sure Nerv's been evacuated completely," Shinji said.  
Everyone seemed to agree.  
"We should all split up," Misato suggested, "That way, we can cover more ground,"  
Asuka gulped, "If we all split up, who will handle the military if they try and attack once again while we're away from the command center looking,"  
Shinji turned toward Ranma, "Well, Ranma here can keep watch over any incoming attacks. Considering how long it took them to mobilize, it's a good chance they won't be attacking anytime soon,"  
"All right, Ritsuko and I will search the upper levels," Misato said, "You and Asuka can go search the lower levels. It'll take us around an hour to thoroughly check through Nerv at this rate. We can meet here afterwards,"  
Shinji nodded, "Okay,"  
"If we find anyone, we can bring them here and carry them out with us as we leave," Misato said, "However, there should be none to worry about. Everyone was most likely evacuated the first time around anyway,"  
"All right, let's get going,"

Shinji and Asuka headed down one of the corridors together.  
"It seems like things are finally turning out really well," Asuka commented.  
"Yeah," he said, "Before long, we'll find ourselves in Germany where we can get our hands on Unit-01 and be gone for good,"  
Asuka asked, "Um, is it possible for us to visit my home in Germany? Um, that way, I can say goodbye,"  
Shinji was silent for a moment, "Are you sure? Y'know, about coming with me back to my world?"  
"You said that we all could," Asuka said, "Are you backing out on you word?"  
Shinji held up his hands defensively, "No, of course not. I have no problems with bringing you guys back with me. It's just that I figure you might change your mind and would rather stay here,"  
Asuka shook her head, "No. I'd rather not stay here,"  
"Bad memories, huh?" Shinji smirked.  
She nodded, "Yeah. Well, of course, you should already know since you seem to know about my life,"  
He gave a chuckle, "I guess you have a good point,"  
"What about you? What prompted you to leave your world and go to the other one?" Asuka asked, "Keep in mind that you may know a lot about me, but I still don't know much about you,"  
"Well, if you think about it, leaving this world is like my leaving my past behind me," Shinji said, "Being an EVA pilot and all, that's something I wasn't all that proud of,  
"Why not?"  
Shinji shrugged, "What, are you proud of it? Are you proud of being a pilot now that you know the truth behind Nerv and Seele and the Angels and everything?"  
Asuka said, "I guess not,"  
"Well, I guess I have different reasons for disliking being a pilot," Shinji shrugged, "I dislike it because it reminds me of my father and how he tried to use me to attain his own goals at any cost,"  
"I guess due to circumstances, people change,"  
"Exactly,"

Misato was dragging the unconscious body of a guard when they all met up by Nerv's entrance around an hour since they split up.  
"Oh, you found someone," Shinji was surprised.  
Misato nodded, "Yeah. He was hiding down by section 'L', in one of the rooms. He took a few shots at us but I managed to take him down before he could hit us,"  
"Wow, um, good job," Shinji didn't' know what to say.  
Misato smirked, "What, were you expecting Ritsuko and I to get taken out by just one lone person? That would definitely put a damper on things if you came here at the designated time and we weren't around. Knowing how things have been until recently, you'd end up coming searching for us, and in the process, the army would attack, etcetera etcetera,"  
Shinji said, "I wasn't thinking of something like that. I figured I found everyone the first time around,"  
"Well, this is the last of 'em," Misato said, "Let's get going," Ritsuko excused herself to head down the corridor.  
Before Shinji had a chance to ask, Misato said, "She's heading to the command center to set off the self-destruct sequence,"  
"Oh," Shinji felt a bit embarrassed. He should've known.  
When Ritsuko came back, a few minutes later, they all left Nerv once and for all, Shinji carrying the unconscious guard. They proceeded across GeoFront toward the tunnel that led topside.  
"Well, no more Nerv to worry about," Misato said, feeling a sense of elation, stretching a bit as she walked along.  
Ritsuko nodded, "Right. Now, all we've got left to worry about is to get to Germany and get rid of Adam and get Unit-01 and everything will be done and over with,"  
"I can't wait," Shinji said, "I've been on this world for far too long,"  
"What are you talking about? It's only been a few days since you got here," Ritsuko commented, "You haven't even been here a week,"  
Shinji smirked, "I may have been here for a few days, but it sure feels much longer than that,"  
"If you think about it, you probably would've been out of this world had you taking in the first Angel's core instead of killing it by accident," Misato smirked.  
Shinji hung his head low, "You don't hafta remind me. All because of my killing the first Angel by accident, all of this happened,"  
"Heck, if you figured out you could've summon and control the Angels shortly afterwards, it wouldn'tve taken so long for it to come to this," Misato added.  
Shinji sighed, "I know. I know,"  
"Actually, if you wanted, I could've blown up Nerv for you instead of us waiting around for your friend to reprogram," the Angel commented, "With a few energy blasts, I can blow up Nerv with no problem,"  
"R-really?" Shinji asked.  
Ranma nodded, "Yes,"  
"How come you didn't tell me before?" Shinji asked, "We could've saved ourselves several hours instead of just waiting around,"  
"You never asked,"  
Everyone fell to the ground.  
Shinji summoned three more Angels shortly after they made it topside. However, he summoned them after he and Ranma took care of the convoy of tanks currently mobilizing and about to head down the tunnel as they emerged. By then, all the people they had evacuated from Nerv were no longer where they left them, having been transported to nearby medical facilities since all of them, save for Rei, were considered casualties.  
When the three Angels arrived, they looked exactly like Ranma. Shinji basically gave them the tasks of protecting Asuka, Ritsuko, and Misato. He figured it was best to have each individual protect the three girls. Who knew what could happen in the future? At least this way, in case anything came up, they each had an Angel there to watch over them.  
"Man, they're like 'pets'," Misato commented, smirking. "'Pets'?" Shinji asked.  
"Not so much as a you would consider a dog or a cat a pet. It's different and kinda hard to explain. Anyway, those Angels you summoned would basically be considered 'pets'," Misato said, "Don't worry about it. It was just an observation and isn't all that important if you know what I'm talking about,"  
"Um, okay," Shinji was confused.  
The group hung around the entrance to the tunnel until Nerv self-destructed. Luckily for the group, Shinji having summoned the extra Angels was very useful. This was because none of them had anticipated that the explosion would've been so powerful that a wall of fire would've escaped from GeoFront via the tunnel. The three Angels, without a moment's hesitation, summoned an AT Field in front of their assigned members, protecting them completely. Although Shinji didn't need protecting, much like his brethren did for the others, Ranma even summoned an AT Field to protect him as well.  
"Um, thanks," Shinji commented.  
The four Angels seemed to accept the thanks gracefully.  
"We're happy to protect you all," all four Angels said in unison.  
Once everyone had a chance to gather their bearings, Shinji had one of the Angels utterly destroy the entrance to the tunnel, so that the military would have a lot of trouble getting down there to find out what had happened.  
"All right," Shinji said, "It seems like we're done with Tokyo-3,"  
"What are we going to do now?" Asuka asked.  
"We head to Germany," Shinji said. He turned to Ritsuko, "Do you know exactly where in Germany we're supposed to go?"  
Ritsuko smirked, "I find it amusing that you ask me this question after Nerv is destroyed, what with MAGI containing the information of Germany's Nerv Headquarters location,"  
"W-wait, you mean to say that the information of where Nerv for Germany was blown up along with Nerv here?" Shinji gasped.  
Ritsuko smiled, "No. Don't worry about that. In actuality, both Misato and I know where Germany's Nerv Headquarters is. It's just that it would prove quite a problem if we didn't and never considered looking it up in MAGI's computers before we blew everything up,"  
Shinji sighed, "Thank goodness you know where it is,"  
"Actually, it wouldn't matter anyway," Asuka smiled, "I know where it is also. Keep in mind I used to train there before I was allocated to Tokyo-3,"  
"Well, that's good to hear," Shinji said, very relieved.  
"So, what do we do? Do we go find an airport to commandeer a plane or, um, do we hitch a ride with the Angels?" Misato asked.  
Shinji turned toward the Angels, "You guys can give us a ride, right?"  
All the Angels nodded, "Yes,"  
"Um, exactly how do they give us a ride?" Ritsuko asked.  
"We can carry you in our arms or you can ride on our backs," one of the Angels commented, "It's your decision,"  
Everyone turned toward one another.  
Before long, everyone decided it was best to piggy-back on their individual Angel's back as the Angel flew toward Germany. "Do want me to fly you as well?" Ranma asked Shinji.  
"Yeah, how else am I gonna get to Germany?" Shinji asked.  
"You can fly," the Angel said matter-of-factly.  
"I can?" Shinji asked. He couldn't help but wonder how cool it would be to fly. It must be amazing to be able to fly, to have the skies free to him and no longer be restricted to land.  
"How do I fly?" Shinji asked.  
Ranma said, "I'm not too sure. It is something you are definitely capable of doing. As to exactly how, I can't tell for sure. They way you fly is differently from the way I fly,"  
Shinji asked, "Do you think I need to just think of flying and I'll be able to fly?"  
The Angel shrugged, "I'm not too sure. I fly much like the way a bird flies. You fly differently,"  
Shinji closed his eyes and envisioned himself flying. He pictured himself darting through the skies in flight. "It seems like whatever you're doing isn't working," Misato commented, "They way you seem to contort your face makes it looks like you're constipated,"  
Shinji blushed, "That's because I have no idea what I'm doing. I'm used to being taught stuff and not figuring things on my own,"  
"You seemed to have done fine on your own," Ritsuko commented.  
Shinji said, "Maybe I just need time. Keep in mind I still can lift heavy stuff yet so it's understandable that I can't fly yet. Maybe I need more time to have God powers,"  
Ritsuko chuckled, "That's some rather weird logic if you're hearing yourself from where I'm standing," "I guess in the meanwhile, I'll just ride with Ranma," Shinji said, "I mean as much as I'd like to be able to fly on my own, we can't just stand around and waste time while I wait and figure out how to fly,"  
"Why not just try and summon some pixie dust and think happy thoughts?" Misato smirked.  
Shinji couldn't help but chuckle at the comment.  
"Well, we should get going," Misato said, "Let's get Unit-01 and be off this world,"  
"Yeah," Shinji agreed.  
Over ten hours. That was the approximate time it would take for the group to get to Germany from Japan. Given the distance and the speed of which they were traveling, it was no wonder how the girls could be exposed to the open air at such speed without being torn to shreds.  
"How fast are we traveling?" Shinji asked around ten minutes in to the trip. It surprised him that he wasn't having trouble breathing or talking. "Would you like an exact number or an rough estimation?" the Angel asked.  
"A rough estimate," he answered.  
"We are going slightly slower than the speed of sound," the Angel replied, "That is why we can hear each other,"  
"Hm, that makes sense," Shinji wanted to bop himself on his head had both his hands not been holding on to the Angel tightly, "But this's got me confused. How are we able to go so fast? I'm not having any problems breathing and such. Considering our speed, the wind should feel like it's hitting me at around seven hundred miles per hour. However, it feels like a light breeze,"  
"That's because I have an AT Field active," the Angel replied, "It's protecting you from the force of the air at this speed,"  
"Oh," Shinji said. He suddenly remembered a conversation he had with his friend Ranma a long time ago. Ranma had assumed the same thing when he was able to go through the air at supersonic speeds. He had discovered this something during the time when Ranma was preparing for the Angels expected to attack MegaTokyo long ago.  
Shinji glanced backward where he saw Misato, Ritsuko, and Asuka. All three of them were resting comfortably on their individual Angel's back. He noticed that all three girls seemed to be keeping themselves occupied conversing with their Angels. "So, you think we'll be attacked up here in the skies?" Shinji asked for conversational purposes.  
"Yes, sooner or later," the Angel answered.  
"I guess that's cause the human species is very tenacious," Shinji commented.  
"Perhaps,"

new stuff 12/25

Halfway through their trip to Germany, they were indeed attacked by a squadron of seven jet fighters. Oddly enough, they had no idea what country was attacking them. They assumed it wasn't Japan, what with the fact that the aerial battle taking place over another country's airspace. Whatever country's fighters they were that were attacking them, it made no difference.  
The Angels had no problems taking care of the attacking jet fighters, downing each plane with well-aimed energy blasts. Because of how small they were as they traveled through the air, the group could not be locked-on by the jet fighters' missiles. And when they were close enough to use their machine guns, they were easily taken down by the Angels.  
As the planes fell to the terra firma in blazing glory, the group continued on with their journey, as if the intense aerial combat had been nothing more than a momentary distraction.  
Shinji stayed awake the entire trip there, feeling there being no need for him to sleep yet. He wasn't tired one bit. But then again, it could be because his powers had made it so that he would never tire nor grow hungry.  
When the Angels touched down German soil by some random airstrip, Shinji was surprised to see all three girls sound asleep on their Angels' backs. He was initially surprised and figured they had perhaps gotten hurt in the aerial battle but realized otherwise when he approached them.  
Looking around, Shinji noticed that the airstrip looks like it was used mostly for private use and not commercial use. Actually, he knew it was that. All he could see was a long stretch of runway in front of him that stretched for probably a good thousand yards. By the other end on the left was a lone hanger where small jets were probably kept. Adjacent to it was a small control tower used to communicated with incoming flights wanting to land on that particular airstrip. When Shinji looked at his watch, he realized that it was sometime in the afternoon of the next day. They had flown clear through the night and morning. This made sense since they left Tokyo-3 early in the morning, it having taken a while for Ritsuko to reprogram MAGI. He shrugged. It didn't really matter what time it was nowadays. To him, it didn't matter if it was day or night. Walking over to where Asuka was, he gave her a gentle nudge. He felt a bit guilty about waking her since she looked so at peace asleep.  
"Huh?" Asuka woke up, rubbing the sleep from her eyes, partially disoriented.  
It took her a minute to take in her surroundings and realize that she was still on her Angel's back. She was let down to her feet where she stretched. She blushed slightly as she wondered just how long she had been sleeping. "Where are we?" she asked, fixing her hair slightly. "Germany," Shinji answered.  
"Already?" Asuka's eyes widened. She could've sworn she closed her eyes for only a few minutes. Had she slept that deeply that several hours had passed just like that?  
Shinji smirked, "Didja know we actually got attacked by several jet fighters along the way?"  
"We did? You're kidding me, right?" she didn't believe him.  
He shrugged, "Well, it doesn't really matter if we were or not. They weren't of much trouble anyway. You and the others slept right through the entire battle,"  
Asuka was silent for a moment. There was no reason for Shinji to lie to her so there was no reason for her not to believe him.  
"How long ago was it when we were attacked?" she asked.  
"Around five hours ago, give or take," he answered, "Don't worry. No fancy evasive maneuvers were used or such which is probably why you didn't get woken up. None of the Angels even deviated from their straight course. Once the jets came in close, they shot out a few energy blasts and destroyed them. They didn't even slow down as they did so,"  
"Wow," Asuka was impressed.  
Shinji waved a dismissive hand, "It doesn't really matter if we got attacked or not. What matters now is finding Nerv,"  
Asuka looked around, "I know where it is, but I don't know where we are now,"  
Shinji looked around as well, "Well, I have no idea where we are. We've been traveling for around ten hours so we're somewhere in Germany now. All that I know is that we are on some kinda airstrip, like some kinda airport,"  
"Well, I better go ask around," Asuka proceeded to walk toward the control tower looming not too far from where they were.  
"I'll come with you," he said, following suit.  
"What would you like us to do?" Shinji's and Asuka's Angels asked.  
"Um, just stay here," Shinji said, "Watch over Ritsuko and Misato. They're still sound asleep it seems but when they wake up, they'll ask where we went. Just tell them we went to ask about where we are so we know where to go. Just ask them to wait until we get back. We should be back in twenty or so minutes,"  
"Would you like us to fly you over there instead of you two needing to walk?" Ranma asked.  
Shinji shook his head, "Nah. There's no need. It's just a short walk anyway. Besides, if they saw us flying up to them, it might freak them out. That's why it's better for us to stop here and walk over there,"  
"Very well," Ranma obliged, "We'll wait,"  
Shinji and Asuka walked together, indulging in some light conversation along the way.  
"Man, I feel dread and excitement over what's to come," Shinji commented. "What do you mean? All we're going to do is ask where we are," Asuka said.  
Shinji shook his head, "No, not that. I'm talking about when we head back to my homeworld. I'm going to have to fight Ranma, the man who trained me to become the person I am today,"  
Asuka was silent.  
"I've seen plenty of movies where the student eventually grows up to surpass his or her master, but with my case..." Shinji paused for a moment, "I have no idea if that's possible,"  
"I've seen you fight," Asuka commented, "You're an incredible fighter and an incredible pilot. With Unit-01 helping you out, you'll do fine,"  
Shinji smirked, "I wish I could think that but I can't. You have no idea what the heck I'm up against,"  
"He can't be that powerful," Asuka commented, "You've got the powers of God. You can't get hurt let alone die. You fight better than anyone can possible dream to fight. Surely you're more than a match for this Ranma person you're up against,"  
Shinji shrugged, "You have no idea just how powerful this guy is. The thing is is that I'm told that it's beyond comprehension. It's literally impossible to understand the extent of his powers. And what's funny is that I hafta fight this individual,"  
Asuka said nothing for several long moments, "Well, I'm sure you'll think of something,"  
"I really hope so,"

Misato and Ritsuko were waiting around rather impatiently when Shinji and Asuka approached them at the end of the runway.  
"It's about time you guys got back," Misato said, "Where did you guys go?"  
"We went to ask about where we were," Shinji answered, "Didn't Ranma tell you?"  
"Yeah, he told us, but why didn't you wake us up?" Ritsuko commented.  
"But you guys were asleep," Shinji said matter-of-factly, "I didn't want to wake you two up. I woke up Asuka because she speaks Germany and could therefore ask in German where we are. If I woke you guys and you came along, you guys would just be standing around,"  
Misato and Ritsuko said nothing. The seemed perfectly logical. Since neither of them knew German, they would be of little use here in terms of interacting with Germans. "Asuka could've gone and found out the information on her own," Shinji said, "I just went with her to keep her company even though I'm basically useless now. I just figured the two of you would be of as much help as myself,"  
"And what makes you think we don't know any German?" Misato asked, "You shouldn't assume anything,"  
"Hey, I know you two don't know German," Shinji said, "I'm not assuming anything. I already know you two and I know you two don't know German,"  
Misato and Ritsuko didn't say anything. There was no way to argue against that. Misato had merely wanted to prove a point that the two of them should not be left out of what was going on since they could be of use, even if the would be absolutely useless in a situation like this.  
"Well, what did you guys find out?" Ritsuko asked, wanting to change the subject.  
Shinji turned toward Asuka, awaiting for her to talk. The gesture made Asuka feel as if she was given the responsibility of leading the team and keeping them up to tabs on what was going on.  
"Um, we've landed in one of the private airports in Munich" Asuka stated, "Nerv is located in the Harz Mountains by Goslar. That's around four hundred miles north of here, give or take. That's probably around a half-hour from here if we fly,"  
"Harz Mountains, I remember that," Misato said, "I remember something about that when I was visiting Germany's Nerv a few months ago. Of course, I have no real idea exactly where it is since I slept for most of the flight back then and woke up when we landed,"  
"Well, that's not all that useful, huh?" Shinji smirked.  
Misato gave a shy smile, "I guess not,"  
"So, what do you guys wanna do?" Shinji asked, "Do you wanna go now or should we stop to eat?"  
The girls' stomachs seemed to rumble at the same time.  
Shinji smirked.  
"I guess we should go eat,"

"Hey, does this place serve good frankfurters?" Shinji asked, "I mean, we are in Germany where that came about. I'd like to have that with sauerkraut and some strudel on the side,"  
Asuka smirked, "Yes, they serve those. Um, do you even know what strudel is?"  
Shinji shook his head, "Not at all. All I know is that it's German so I figured, since I'm in Germany, I might as well try German food,"  
Shinji and the others were in some random diner. They stood out like a sore thumb since they were basically a group of Japanese, save for Asuka, in a German diner. Since they spoke in Japanese, it was easier for them to be noticed. The four Angels whom sat along with them were easily noticed, constantly recognized as quadruplets.  
When the waitress came, Asuka ordered the orders for all of them, the four Angels declining the need to eat. Actually, Shinji didn't need to eat since he wasn't all that hungry but seemed to have decided to eat for the sake of eating.  
As they waited for their orders to arrive, they indulged in conversation.  
"So tell me more about your world," Misato asked Shinji, "Is it very similar to our own? I'd like to know more about it. Do you think we'll adjust to it quickly?"  
Shinji nodded, "I'm sure you guys'll adjust fine. Your other selves adjusted fine so there's no reason why you guys shouldn't. It's not much different from this world. The technology is different and it might take a bit of getting use to but other than that, you should be fine,"  
"How the technology different?" Ritsuko asked, very curious.  
"It's more advanced," Shinji said, "But not vastly advanced. The computer technology of that world is more advanced, what with the fact that the other Ritsuko carrying over what she knew of MAGI from her world and creating a new breed of computers based on MAGI. The technological tree is very different between this world and that. It's kinda hard to explain. It's better if you just see it and experience it for yourself,"  
"Man, I'm looking forward to it," Misato sat back in her seat.  
"I must admit, I'm kind of eager to see that world as well," Ritsuko commented.  
"Man, I can't believe you guys can so easily up and leave, just like that," Shinji said, "At least with your other selves, there was no alternatives. At least with you guys, you can still choose to live here and live peacefully,"  
"What makes you think that?" Misato asked, "Keep in mind we blew up Nerv. I'm sure the people on this world won't just simply forget about us having done something like that,"  
Shinji gave a meek smile, "I guess you have a point,"  
The continued to indulge in conversation as they waited, talking about nothing in general.  
"You live in Goslar, right?" Shinji asked Asuka.  
Asuka nodded, "Yes, how did you know?"  
Shinji smirked, "Well, keep in mind I do know about you from your other self,"  
"Right, I keep forgetting about it," Asuka gave a shy smile, "Anyway, I lived there with my grandparents,"  
"Do you like it there?"  
Asuka shrugged, "I have nothing to complain about if that's what you mean. However, it would be nice to visit them before I leave. I mean, it's not like we'll ever come back, will we?"  
Shinji said, "Well, I don't see why not, but we can't really visit for long. I doubt we will ever come back. That's why it's a big decision. If you leave, you'll never see your family again,"  
"I'm prepared for that,"

Goslar was a beautiful city. It didn't look much like a modern city like Tokyo-3. It was a very old city, dating back several centuries. It consisted of giant brick and wooden buildings, most of them looking rather Victorian in design. There were giant cathedrals and libraries much larger than ones Shinji had ever seen before. The residential area were mostly buildings, none of them having single-family houses. There were no skyscraper-type buildings or even upright rectangular buildings. The buildings there looked mostly like giant houses with massive roofs. If the building was around six stories tall, the roof made up three of those stories.  
The building were located among sparse trees, the city build around a forest instead of trees being planted after the city was settled.  
Shinji and company walked down a random busy street. "There seems to be a lot of hotels around here," Shinji commented.  
"The Harz Mountains is not located all that far from here," Asuka commented, "It's known for its ore deposits and were mined from around the early Middle Ages. Goslar is a famous mining city. The city is quite a tourist attraction. That's why there are so many hotels. They're for the tourists,"  
"It's beautiful," Misato commented, looking around, "It makes me wish I had taken time to wander around the city instead of being in Germany's Nerv all the time when I came by on business,"  
"The city is said to be much more beautiful if it weren't for the fact that half of it was washed away when Second Impact occurred," Asuka commented, "Where we are is a much like the way Tokyo-3 is. The real city of Goslar was washed away. This one was rebuilt on higher ground. It's located only a short distance from where the real Goslar was so people consider merely an extension of it,"  
"Where's your place?" Shinji asked.  
"It's just up the road," Asuka pointed.  
The group approached a quaint looking building near the top of an inclined road, a corner building. It looked only slightly different from the other buildings. It looked like an upside-down 'U' with a large gate that was its front entrance.  
They all followed as Asuka led them to the entrance and pressed on a button on the intercom located to the right of the sturdy steel front door. After a few seconds, a voice emanated from the intercom. Although Shinji didn't know German all that much, he was able to make out the short conversation.  
"Hello?" the voice asked in German.  
"Grandma," Asuka said in to the intercom, "I know that this is a surprise, but it's Asuka. I'm back home,"  
"Asuka? How can that be? You're supposed to be in Japan," the voice said.  
"It's a long story," she replied, "Can you please let me in? I've got some friends here with me,"  
"Okay,"

Shinji and the others entered Asuka's apartment building.  
The apartment building was rather cozy, what with it only being inhabited by Asuka's grandmother and a live-in nurse there to watch over her grandmother.  
Shinji couldn't help but wonder if it was a good idea to be here. It was a bit of a waste of time to be here in the first place. But then again, if being here allowed Asuka the opportunity to say goodbye, then so be it.  
Asuka's grandmother was a very short elderly lady. She stood no taller than five feet tall and had a head full of gray hair done up in a bon. At the elderly age of sixty, she was what people considered a very beautiful woman given her age.  
Grandma, as Asuka seemed to call her, looked absolutely ecstatic to see her grand-daughter. She gave Asuka a warm embrace as Asuka returned it. Shinji couldn't help but feel a sense of warmth seeing Asuka show such a sense of warmth toward her kin. Perhaps it was because the Asuka he knew usually kept to herself and rarely showed her emotions so openly.  
Asuka introduced everyone, making up names for the Angels. She told her grand-  
mother of how Shinji and the others were friend from Japan. They all greeted her and bowed politely, even the Angels. When she had queried of why they were there in the first place, Asuka seemed to dodge the question, seemingly giving an indication that she was there to visit Nerv. It wasn't necessarily a lie.  
"My, what a striking young man," Grandma commented, regarding Shinji, "He seems to be the same age as you, perhaps slightly older. Is he your boyfriend?"  
Asuka blushed, "No. We're good friends. We're pilots together back at Japan. Also, Shinji here speaks some German,"  
"I don't speak lots of German," Shinji said brokenly, "I understand little,"  
Grandma smiled warmly, "Well, you speak enough for me to understand. So, how are you two getting along?"  
"We get fine along," Shinji said after a moment. He felt very self-conscious of himself as he tried to speak German. It made him kind of regret having told Asuka that he spoke and understood some German.  
"Grandma, just leave Shinji alone," Asuka said, "Can't you see you're making him uncomfortable?"  
"Fine, I'll speak to you then," Grandma turned toward Asuka, "So, how long will you be staying? A few days? When did you get back?"  
"Um, we just got back recently," she said, "However, we can't stay long. Um, we've got matters to attend to and I just wanted to stop by and let you know that I'm fine and everything okay,"  
Shinji excused himself, wanting Asuka to have some time alone with her grand-  
mother. The others followed suit, all of them ending up waiting outside by the front gate.  
"What's funny is that this Asuka's able to do what the other one hasn't been able to do," Shinji commented.  
"What do you mean?" Misato asked curiously.  
"She's able to say goodbye," he said.  
Misato and Ritsuko said nothing. They had no one to say goodbye to. They had no kin, all of them having died years before. Neither of them had many friends, their life mostly revolving around their work.  
Before long, Asuka came running up to them.  
Shinji caught a glimpse of something in her hands, something that looked along the lines of a child's stuffed monkey. He didn't really know what to make of it but believe she brought it along for sentimental reasons. Funnily enough, he also noticed that she no longer sported those red synchro hair-clips the one he knew always wore.  
"Wow, why'dja remove your synchro hair-clips?" Shinji asked, very surprised.  
Asuka smiled, "Well, there's no more reason to wear it anymore. I'm no longer an EVA pilot,"  
Shinji chuckled, "Wow, you're so different from the Asuka I know. She never removed those clips and continues to wear it to this day. What's with the doll?"  
"It's just a childhood toy," she answered, "I'm bringing it back with me because it has sentimental reasons,"  
"Sentimental reasons?" Shinji asked.  
"Think of it as something along the lines as the group picture you carry with you," she answered. In a sense, what she did had a profound form of symbolism, not that she did that on purpose. Abandoning the synchro hair-clips meant she was relinquishing her life as an EVA pilot and bringing with her her childhood doll the acceptance that she was now just a regular girl once again.  
"Ah, I understand," Shinji smiled.  
Asuka was doing what he had done long ago, starting her life all over again.  
Shinji and the others walked down slightly declining road that dug in to the mountainside. From what Asuka had told them, the entrance in to Nerv was located around a hundred yards within the side of the mountain.  
"Man, I can't believe I'm going to be entering a totally different Nerv," Shinji commented, "It's so weird, what with the fact that I'm used to a Nerv Headquarters being located within a GeoFront,"  
"Well, Germany's Nerv Headquarters is much different," Asuka smirked, "There's no GeoFront. All it is is a giant base located deep within the Harz Mountains. Oddly enough, the interior of this Nerv looks very much the same as the one in Tokyo-3,"  
Misato scratched her chin, "Hm, now that I think about it, you're right. They are similar. When I visited here a while back on business, I didn't notice that the layout was similar,"  
"That's because all Nerv Headquarters' layout are much the same," Ritsuko said, "Nerv's layout was designed specifically in case they were ever to be attacked by Angels,"  
"In my world none of the other Nerv bases were ever attacked by Angels," Shinji commented.  
Ritsuko shrugged, "Well, we never knew that. It was built this was merely as a precaution. Keep in mind every contingencies were thought up when Nerv bases were being designed,"  
"Not all contingencies," Misato smirked, "I don't think anyone ever thought of a contingency such as a person from another world coming to this world in hopes of stealing an Evangelion and blowing up Lilith,"  
Shinji shrugged, "I guess you have a point," They continued walking along.  
"Is there a Central Dogma in this base as well, much like the one in Tokyo-3?" Shinji asked, "I know quite a bit about this world based on what I know of my world, but I still don't know everything,"  
Ritsuko nodded, "Yes, there's a Central Dogma in this base as well. It was used to hold Adam,"  
Shinji's eyes widened, "Really? I never knew that. I knew of Adam being kept in Germany before it was to be transported to Tokyo-3, but I didn't know it was being kept in Germany's Nerv's Central Dogma,"  
"Because of the ore deposits that is still located within the mountain, it helps block off Adam's presence on this world from the Angels," Ritsuko commented, "That's the main reason why Nerv was built in this particular mountain, to house Adam,"  
"Whoa, that's pretty heavy stuff," Shinji said, "I never knew about that. Seems like stuff gets even deeper on this and my world than I originally thought,"  
"There's a good chance the case you said that was used to carry Adam when he was being transported was lined with the ore," Ritsuko said, "However, there's a chance that there wasn't enough since you got attacked while on transport back on your world," Shinji shrugged, "Hm, that could be it. But then again, I don't think I'll ever know the real truth behind why I was attacked back on my world back then. However, this guess does make it very plausible that that is what had caused it,"  
The group walked up to a pair of giant iron doors that was the entrance that lead to the interior of Nerv.  
Shinji sighed, "How come I'm not surprised it's closed,"  
Misato smirked, "It's open as frequently as any entrance that leads down to GeoFront over in Tokyo-3. You shouldn't be surprised that it would be closed. God forbid curious individuals enter Nerv and start wandering around. Keep in mind Nerv is supposed to be cut off from the public and something like this usually stops a hundred percent of the nosy public,"  
Shinji shrugged, "I guess you have a point,"  
"You want me to knock the door down?" one of the Angels asked. It would be a piece of cake for someone of his power level.  
Shinji contemplated for a moment before saying, "No,"  
"No? What do you plan on doing?" Ritsuko asked.  
Misato walked up to the card reader and slid her Nerv personnel card through the card reader. It indicated that it was an invalid card and that access was denied.  
"Yeah, like that was going to work," Ritsuko smirked.  
Misato smiled, "Hey, it couldn't hurt to try. At least this way, we know it wouldn't work,"  
"What do you plan on doing Shinji?" Ritsuko turned toward the young man.  
Shinji kicked at the door, hard. When he brought his foot away from the door, there was an imprint of his foot in the door.  
"You've gotta be kidding me!" Misato gasped, "Don't tell me you're actually going to try and knock the door down yourself!"  
"Why not?" Shinji asked, "What's wrong with that?"  
"Well, first it's insane," Misato commented, "And second, why not just have the Angels do it?"  
Shinji shook his head, "I'm sure they can knock it down, but I can't keep depending on 'em. I should use this as an opportunity to force myself to get stronger so that I can knock this door down,"  
"Um, I don't mean to be a cloud on your parade, but the door weighs close to a hundred tons. It's ten feet thick of solid steel," Misato commented, "And N2 mine could blow up in this tunnel and it would only partially damage it,"  
Shinji shrugged, "It doesn't matter. Considering what I hafta fight against, if I can't do something as simple as knocking down a door of this caliber, I'm screwed,"  
Everyone stood off to the side as they watched Shinji go about kicking at the door with all his might. All he did make dents in it with his feet and fists. After ten minutes of constantly hitting the door, the door gave no indication of yielding under Shinji's devastating attacks.  
"Aw screw it," Shinji turned toward Ranma, "Just blow it up,"

The interior of Nerv was bathed in red light when Ranma blew the massive door off its hinges with a semi-powerful energy blast.  
Everyone within Nerv, having gotten word of what happened to Nerv over in Tokyo-3, were on edge that something bad might happen to them. When the alarm went off, all of the personnel within Nerv didn't know what to do. Although they were cautious and were expecting to get attacked, they weren't prepared to actually deal with it.  
Shinji and the others basically breezed through Nerv unhindered. What heavy resistance the Nerv personnel could muster was of trivial effect since Shinji had four Angels walking alongside him protecting him and the three girls. They slowly made their way toward the command center. Sniper shots were taken toward all of them, even the girls, none of the bullets getting through and easily intercepted or caught by any of the four accompanying Angels.  
Even when several guards lined up in a straight line and opened fire toward the group's general direction, the Angels stood in front of the incoming fire and deflected and caught all projectiles. Shinji smirked, "Man, considering how they believed they layout of Nerv was advantageous to them when they built the base, it sure seems to backfire on them when they hafta deal with someone that already knows how the layout of a different Nerv is,"  
They took their time heading toward the command center, knowing that time wasn't really of the essence, at least no more than usual. This was because they knew that Nerv did not have enough time to move Unit-01. Besides, there were no pilots so Unit-01 stayed right where it was all this time, waiting to be stolen.  
Shinji couldn't help be amazed at how efficient a small group of Angels were. Just having one Angel was probably more than enough to take over Nerv, but having four of them was complete overkill. Angels were not only extremely strong, but were most likely exponentially stronger when grouped together.  
The three girls were all on edge. Even though they had a funny feeling they were more safe now, even with guards spraying bullets in their general direction, than, say, taking a leisurely stroll through the park, each one of them couldn't help but be nervous. Perhaps it was the fact that they were being shot at, even if none of the bullets were getting through, thanks to the Angels.  
Before long, the group reached the command center.  
Shinji looked around, "Man, this command center looks exactly like the one in Tokyo-3,"  
"Gee, I figure you'dve figured that out by now, what with the fact that all of this Nerv's interior is virtually identical," Misato smirked.  
Shinji blushed and gave a slightly laugh, "You have a point,"  
Ritsuko walked past the unconscious bodies that lay around the command center, the personnel that worked there taken down when they entered the chamber, and walked up to the main console.  
"Damn, I figured it couldn't be that easy," Ritsuko sighed.  
"Whatcha talking about?" Shinji asked. "Everything's in German," she answered, "It'll take me a while before I can figure everything out and activate Unit-01 for you to steal,"  
"How long will it take?" he asked.  
Ritsuko shrugged, "I have no idea. It could take a few minutes. But then again, it could take a few hours,"  
"Not if I can help it," Asuka smiled, "I may not know what this console does or exactly how to use it, but I can tell you what's written on what,"  
Ritsuko smiled, "That'll be of great help. Shinji, in the meanwhile, I think it's better that you go down and retrieve Adam from Central Dogma in the meanwhile. Perhaps by then, we'll have this all figured out,"  
"Okay," Shinji said.  
Shinji turned toward the Angels, intending to give them commands.  
"Ranma, please accompany me to Central Dogma. The rest of you Angels, stay here and protect Ritsuko, Misato, and Asuka. See that they come to no harm,"  
"As you wish," all the Angel said.

"I've been thinking," Shinji began as he and Ranma descended toward the belly of Nerv via an elevator.  
"What is it?" the Angel asked.  
"I feel bad about us having to destroy Adam before we leave," Shinji said.  
"What must be done must be done," the Angel said, "It's your 'will' and I'll never argue it,"  
"What do you think I should do?" Shinji asked.  
"You can do whatever you want," the Angel said, "I won't argue against you,"  
Shinji's lips became a thin line, "Why does it hafta come to that? Surely you must rather Adam not be destroyed,"  
"It doesn't matter what I want," the Angel said, "I have no will of my own so whatever decision you decide I will carry out, even if it means killing my own father,"  
Shinji sighed. Sure, an Angel was an Angel, but still, it was a living creature, right? Right?  
"Do you think it's possible I can just give you Adam and you take him back home with you without Third Impact occurring?" Shinji asked, "The most important thing is that we can't have Third Impact occurring. That's something catastrophic and can not happen,"  
"I'm sorry but I can't give you an answer to that," Ranma said, "For all we know, my coming in contact can cause Third Impact. But then again, I might be able to not have Third Impact occur if I could. Unfortunately, that question is something that I can't answer,"  
Shinji sighed. He then asked, "What do you think I should do?"  
"I can't decide for you," Ranma answered, "It's not my will to say,"  
"Why not?" Shinji asked.  
"Like I said earlier, I have no will of my own," Ranma said.  
"Well, um, I command you to have a will of your own," Shinji said, "Now, tell me, what do you think I should do?"  
The Angel paused. Given a will of his own, he thought about it for a moment.  
"I think it's better to destroy my father," the Angel said, "Having it done any other way is a risk that doesn't need to be taken,"  
Shinji sighed, "Man, I really wish it didn't have to come to just that,"  
"Sometimes, it must be," Ranma said, smiling, a first for him, "It's all for the better,"

Shinji knocked down the giant door that led to the chamber that was Central Dogma. The door was of the same dimensions as the one he tried to knock down back at Tokyo-3. However, this time around, one solid open-palm strike sent the door blowing off its hinges and inward in to the chamber.  
A loud clank could be heard as the door crashed to the floor a good distance away. As the two of them entered the room, Shinji didn't really know how to react to what he saw. The chamber was every bit as large as the one in Tokyo-3. However, with this one, there was no Lilith crucified on a giant red cross. Instead, there was a lone normal-sized desk located in the direct center of the giant chamber. On that desk was a gray suitcase-looking object.  
"Is that Adam?" Shinji asked, walking toward the desk.  
The Angel followed suit, "Yes. That's him,"  
When he reached the desk, Shinji turned toward Ranma. "You're not gonna do anything funny, right?" Shinji asked.  
"No," the Angel said, "Your 'will' is my command. If you think I'll disregard your command and come in contact with Adam, then you have nothing to worry about. I will do nothing of the sort,"  
"Okay, just making sure," Shinji said.  
Walking up to the case, he realized it actually was a suitcase.  
Shinji opened it up.  
Inside was Adam. The interior of the case was lined with what looked like a foam-like cushioning with a single circular dish-like object. In that dish was Adam in an embryo form.  
"So, this is what Adam looks like, huh?" Shinji said. He had known of Adam in an embryo form but had never seen him before. This was his first.  
The Angel twitched slightly, sorely tempted to reach out and touch Adam. Deep down inside, he wanted to come in contact with his father, so he could bring him back home. However, Shinji didn't want him to. Shinji planned on destroying Adam. Shinji closed the suitcase.  
"All right. We've got Adam, let's get going," he said, turning around and heading for the exit, suitcase in hand.  
"Y-yes. As y-you wish," the Angel replied.

Shinji entered the command center and saw Ritsuko and Asuka hard at work.  
The layout of the main console was different so Ritsuko had to have Asuka translate what was being displayed on the screen. It was a slow and tedious process but Ritsuko was slowly progressing toward activating Unit-01.  
Misato was just lingering around. Since she was of little help, she wanted to stay out of the way. At the current moment, she was crouched over one of the downed personnel, giving him gentle slaps in attempt to waking him up. She believed it was better to have one of the command center personnel at the console instead of Ritsuko and Asuka.  
The three Angels were there as well, waiting patiently to take down whatever feeble attempts Nerv would make in the near future at taking back the command center.  
"How goes everything?" Shinji asked.  
"We've managed to find out where Unit-01's located," Ritsuko said rather proudly, "It's located in EVA bay five,"  
"How far along are we?" he asked, "Will it take a while to activate Unit-01?"  
Ritsuko shook her head, "Not really. We've figured out how to activate the speaker system around Nerv. It's best that you head down there and wait for us. When we get Unit-01 activated, we'll contact you,"  
Shinji said, "That's sounds like a good idea,"  
Together, Shinji and Ranma left the room.

new stuff 12/26

Shinji had a big smile on his face when he and the Angel entered the bay and caught sight of Unit-01 in all her glory. From where he was, he could stare straight ahead at Unit-01's face, her body submerged completely up to its shoulders.  
"You seem happy," Ranma commented.  
"Man, it's been a while since I last saw Unit-01," Shinji commented, "You have no idea how happy am to see her. Seeing her indicates that I'll be soon returning back home,"  
Shinji didn't have to wait around long around within EVA bay five.  
After hanging around there for around fifteen minutes, he heard Ritsuko's voice coming from a speaker located right by the entrance to the giant chamber area.  
"Shinji," the voice said, "This is Ritsuko. I can see you from the command center. We can communicate back and forth. You should find an intercom located right by the EVA bay's entrance,"  
Shinji walked over there where there was indeed an intercom. "Everything came out okay?" Shinji asked in to the intercom.  
"Hi, Shinji," came Asuka's cheery voice.  
"Um, hey," Shinji gave a shy reply.  
"Yes, everything is okay," Ritsuko replied, "We've found out how to activate Unit-01. It wasn't all that difficult. The language barrier was the main hurdle. Nerv's computer interface is completely in German and it takes time to have everything constantly translated,"  
"Have you guys thought about what we should do with Adam?" Shinji asked. He had dropped the case containing Adam off at the command center. Misato had taken it upon herself to keep herself occupied trying to think of a suitable way of disposing of Adam.  
"Yeah," Misato's voice came over the intercom, "Before we leave for your world, we can destroy Adam over a large body of water. Ranma said that that it'll take an enormous energy to destroy Adam so it's best we destroy him where there's no chance anyone could get hurt,"  
Shinji was silent for a moment, "So that's the decision, to destroy him, just like that?"  
"There's no other way," Misato said, "So long as Adam exists, humanity is in danger. If there is another way of solving this problem, we're all open to suggestions,"  
Shinji turned toward Ranma.  
"It's okay," Ranma said, "I have nothing to suggest. It's for the better anyway,"  
Shinji sighed. It was most unfortunate that it would lead to the destruction of Adam to preserve the human race. However, something like this was for the better.  
"I guess you're right," he said.  
Shinji turned toward Ranma.  
"I'm sorry," Shinji said.  
Shinji, within the cockpit of Unit-01, rode the giant elevator that lead to the mountain surface. Gripped in Unit-01's hand was Ranma. He was expected to meet Misato by Nerv's entrance.  
From within the cockpit, Shinji was staring at the screen in front of him where he could see Ranma staring back at him, as if they were actually looking at each other face-to-face.  
"It was nice knowing you," Ranma smiled slightly.  
Shinji said nothing. He had dreaded what he was about to do ever since he had left Tokyo-3.  
"Don't feel sad about what you're about to do," Ranma said, "I know you have to kill me so that Unit-01 will becoming self-sufficient,"  
"I don't want to do it though," Shinji said.  
"There's no other way," Ranma said.  
"I'm sorry," he said, "Truly, I'm really sorry. If there was some other way, I would gladly do that instead,"  
Ranma shook his head, "There is no other way,"  
Shinji became silent. Tears starts to form around his eyes, disappearing as they were diluted in LCL in which he was submerged.  
"It's better off this way anyway," Ranma said, "You gave me free will and I have decided I would rather take this path,"  
"W-what?" Shinji was confused.  
Ranma smiled slightly, "I could've come in contact with Adam if I wanted to. You gave me free will before we reached him and I could've if I wanted to. However, I've decided I would rather suffer this fate so that it could help you instead. Besides, I don't trust myself anymore around Adam. I don't want to disappoint you,"  
Shinji said nothing.  
"Goodbye, Shinji. Even though we knew didn't know each other for long, I considered you a good friend,"  
Misato and the others headed out of Nerv.  
They had planned to meet just outside of Nerv where Shinji would, reluctantly, allow Unit-01 to take in one of the Angels so it could attain the S2 core that would allow it to be self-sufficient and no longer need a power supply.  
Misato looked at the suitcase she carried as she walked along with the group. She couldn't help but feel a sense of pity toward one of the three Angels escorting them. They would most likely be sacrificed so Unit-01 could attain the S2 core and they walked along side them with no form of dread or fear.  
Everything was finally coming to an end. Just a few short hours from now, they will be leaving this world forever.  
When they finally made it outside, they saw Unit-01 standing very still.  
Inside Unit-01, Shinji sobbed, grateful that he could not be seen within the entry plug, embarrassed to show such as lack of control over his emotions. But then again, considering what had just happened, perhaps anyone could understand why he was crying.  
Misato looked around. Looking up toward Unit-01, should couldn't help but feel at awe at just how massive and impressive Unit-01 was. Towering so high that it stood nearly as tall as the mountain range where Nerv was located, Misato had to crank her head back quite a bit to be able to look up at Unit-01's face.  
When she looked up, she couldn't help but notice that Unit-01 looked different. It looked exactly the same as what she last remembered it, but there was something different to Unit-01 she could seemingly feel.  
Looking around, she noticed the Angel that was supposed to be accompanying Shinji was nowhere to be seen.  
"Where's Ranma?"

Shinji had a sad look on his face as he piloted Unit-01 north.  
Because of Unit-01's gigantic size and the distance of its every step, it would only take a short time before he would reach the North Sea, where he would dispose of Adam.  
Within the cockpit was Ritsuko, Asuka, and Misato, all of them squeezed together behind his seat. Flying alongside Unit-01 were the three remaining Angels, breaking formation every here and there to dispose of attacking aircrafts.  
"Shinji, are you okay?" Misato asked, noticing Shinji had been silent for the past ten minutes. It doesn't take Shinji all that much concentration to make Unit-01 walk and he seemed very preoccupied.  
"I-I'm fine," Shinji said softly, "I'm just upset over what I had to do,"  
"I'm sorry it had to come to that," Misato said, "But it couldn't be helped,"  
Shinji sighed, "I guess you're right. It just feels so wrong to have done what I've done. Ranma's done nothing but help me all this time. And what do I do in the end? I have Unit-01 kill him and eat him,"  
Everyone was silent. There was nothing they could say to him. Misato regarded Shinji's back, feeling a heavy weight on her chest. She was an adult and should share in burdening such burdens. Unfortunately, she would be of little use. Something so burdensome could only be burdened by someone like Shinji.  
She wiped at her eyes, hiding her tears.  
The young man she first met was no more. He had been replaced by a man burdening a burden that no human should ever burden.

Shinji stood sadly on Unit-01's shoulders as he stared off toward the horizon. Unit-01 was kneeling on the shoreline lining at the northernmost part of Germany, looking north and over the North Sea. Sticking out from the back of its neck was the entry plug, partially ejected so everyone could step out and on to Unit-01's shoulders for the time being.  
Standing by his side were Ritsuko, Misato, and Asuka.  
Hovering around them, a short distance away, were two remaining Angels. The third Angel was no where to have been seen, having been chosen to carry out the task of destroying Adam. Shinji had told the Angel to take the suitcase out around a hundred miles north from shore and throw it in to the North Sea. There the Angel was then expected to use all of its energy conjuring the most powerful energy blast it could muster and destroy Adam, even if that meant its own life.  
He waited patiently, already knowing the outcome. He would see an explosion, even from such a distance. Waiting their for the Angel to come back would be useless because it would have died in the explosion.  
"Do you think the Angel will come back?" Misato asked, her head popping out from the entry plug door. Shinji shook his head, "No,"  
The sounds of incoming jet fighters could be heard from the south. When they turned around to look, one of the Angels had taken off south, to intercept the incoming jet fighters. The other Angel had been requested to stay, to watch over the three girls, their protection of higher priority. Shinji had told one Angel to protect the three girls while the other Angel was allowed to break from formation to attack anything that attacked them. Basically, one Angel was the group's offence while the other Angel was their defense, just in case they needed it.  
Shinji never bothered to turn around, continuing to gaze north and out to sea.  
The three girls decided to climb back in to the Unit-01. It was safer in there than outside. Although the Angel protecting them was very competent, there was no telling that the Angel could protect all three of them at once. One stray bullet could kill either one of them and they didn't want to take the chance.  
Shinji looked down at his hands.  
He couldn't believe how much he had changed in such a short time. Showing up on this world had probably been both the best and worst thing that had ever happened to him. Now, people might think that it wasn't possible for a situation to be considered the best and worst at the same time.  
Shinji smirked. He knew that it was possible.  
Being on this world had been the best for him because it made him grow up and become a man very capable of handling extreme situations. It made him realize how Ranma because what he became. Ranma had suffered through the 'Nerima Massacre' which had changed him from the young man he probably was and in to the man he was today.  
Growing up and becoming a man was also what he considered the worst part about showing up on this world. Because of what he had gone through, he would never be the same. Much like the way a sheet of paper was creased and straightened out, he would never be the same. That was something he considered to be the worst. He had liked what he was back then, a young and somewhat awkward college student trying to live a normal life.  
Shinji sighed.  
He banished the thought from his mind. It was no use feeling bad about himself. None of this could be helped. Shinji caught sight of a flash of light in the far off distance. The horizon, now darkening as the sun started to set, was light brightly from the explosion. Shinji knew what had caused it. The Angel that carried the suitcase all the way out from shore had succeeded in completing its task.  
Without saying a word, Shinji walked over and climbed in to the entry plug, ready to go back home.  
Thanks to him, this world and humanity were now safe from destruction.  
Inside the entry plug, Shinji smiled toward the girls.  
"Let's go home. There was no need to stay here anymore,"

In a world Shinji had left only a few days before, the sky was black. It was so black that the people that inhabited that world had no idea if it was day or night, the clouds having expanded and covered the entire world.  
In a world full of darkness, light appeared in the form of a portal somewhere over the devastated city that used to be MegaTokyo.  
Emerging from the portal were Unit-01 and two accompanying Angels.  
From within the Unit-01, Misato gazed at the screen.  
"Are we really on a different world?" she asked.  
Shinji nodded, "Yeah. This is my world. Actually, it's the world I call home,"  
"You're not lying, right?" Misato asked, "This is really a different world? I feel no different than before,"  
"Yeah, this is a different world," Shinji said, "You're now existing in a world where you never existed before,"  
"Man, this is your world?" Misato asked, "No offense, but it looks like a wasteland,"  
She couldn't help but figure that that was why Shinji was such a person of strong character. To live in such a world like this usually made a person strong. It had made her wonder if she had made the right choice in coming to this world. She had a really good feeling that she would not survive in such a wasteland-like world. But then again, what choice did she or the others have? If they went back to their world, they would eventually be captured and executed by whatever Seele or Nerv people there were still looking for them.  
Shinji said, "This is what this world looks like after Ranma went crazy. Where we are now is MegaTokyo. It used to be a city similar to Tokyo-3. What you see is what remains of it after Ranma basically blew everything up. Funnily enough, all this destruction wasn't even caused by him. It was caused by Urd attempting to kill him. Of course, he survived,"  
Ritsuko gulped nervously. However this Ranma person was Shinji would be fighting against, Shinji definitely had his work cut out for him. The amount of power needed to create such devastation was probably equivalent to two to four N2 mines. "Man, I can't even tell if it's day or night here," Shinji said, looking at the screen, "Lettme make the clouds go away,"  
He closed his eyes and basically 'willed' the bad weather to disappear.  
The sky started clearing to reveal sunny blue sky and a bright sun, indicating that they had arrived on this world sometime around noontime.  
"Yes, that was me that did it," Shinji answered Ritsuko's question before she could ask, "I learned how to control the weather not too long ago,"  
Shinji piloted Unit-01 toward a giant crater.  
"What caused that crater?"  
"Ryoga," Shinji said, "Ryoga committed suicide trying to kill Ranma. The crater was what remained after the failed attempt,"  
Everyone was silent.  
Shinji made Unit-01 come to a stop as it neared the crater.  
Before any of the girls could ask, Shinji said, "You see that mound of dirt on the screen?"  
"Yeah," they all nodded.  
"That's where I buried all of my friends," Shinji said.  
Without waiting to hear a response, Shinji had Unit-01 kneel down, extending an arm toward the ground. He then powered down the EVA and ejected the entry plug.  
"Where are you going?" Asuka asked as Shinji squeezed by her and exited out through the entry plug exit. She peeked her head out where she caught a glimpse of him as he ran down the length of Unit-01's angled arm and hopped off the hand and on to the ground. Not wanting to just wait around, the three girls climbed out of the entry plug as well, slowly heading down the arm as well. As they did so, they couldn't help but notice the two remaining Angels hovering close to them, keeping constant vigil over them, ready to reach in case they slipped and fell off the EVA.  
When they reached the ground, the headed over to where Shinji was. He was keeping himself occupied fixing Rei's makeshift tombstone. It seems the bad weather had caused it to start breaking apart. When he stepped away, the makeshift tombstones consisted of nothing much more than a pile of rocks indicating that someone rested there.  
Shinji pointed over toward three makeshift tombstones, "You see those three mounds over there. That's where the three of you were buried,"  
The girls looked at one another.  
Because his back was toward them, the three of them didn't see the tears streaming down his cheeks. He made a nonchalant swipe at his face to wipe away the tears before turning his attention toward a lance-like object sticking out of the ground.  
The girls watched as Shinji placed a hand on it and tried to shake it while it stuck in the ground. It didn't budge.  
"How come I'm not surprised," Shinji sighed.  
"What are you talking about?" Ritsuko asked.  
Shinji turned toward the group, a hand gripped on the weapon, "Guess what this is?"  
"Is it this world's Lance of Longinus?" Ritsuko guessed.  
Shinji shook his head, "No. This the Lance that Ranma created that is to be used to kill him. In a sense, this is the Lance of Ranma,"  
"I don't understand," Misato asked.  
"This weapon was created by Ranma before he went crazy," Shinji said, "I'm supposed to use this to kill him. Unfortunately, there's one problem, it's so heavy it's physically impossible for me to lift. I just tried to lift it and it didn't even budge. Whatever strength I gained on your world, it's still not enough to wield this weapon,"  
"You're kidding me, right?" Misato asked.  
Shinji shook his head, "No. That's the whole reason why I got Unit-01 in the first place. Because she is gonna be the one that will wield it since I am physically incapable of it,"  
The girls were silent.  
"The problem is that due to Unit-01's size, it's equivalent to a human wielding a weapon with the relative size of a toothpick if not smaller," Shinji chuckled slightly.  
"T-that's insane," Misato said. She quickly stopped when she realized what she had said, "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to say that,"  
Shinji waved a dismissive hand, "Don't worry. It doesn't bother me. I know it's insane. The problem is that, as long a shot as it is, it's the only one I've got,"  
Everyone was silent.  
"So, what do we do now?" Misato asked.  
"I'm gonna wait for Ranma to show up," he said.  
"What about us? What should we do?" Asuka asked.  
Shinji gave a sad smile, "You guys do nothing. You'll be no where near here for when I hafta fight Ranma,"  
In the far if distance, a lone Angel could be seen approaching the group, unseen by no one but Shinji.  
"What do you mean by that?" Misato asked, "We'll be here to help you fight,"  
Shinji walked forward and gave all three girls a hug, "I'm sorry, but that's not going to happen. You guys will be far away from here,"  
The lone Angel reached the group, hovering down and taking place standing next to the other two Angels.  
"We're in this together," Misato said, "You don't expect us to part now after all that we've been through,"  
Shinji stepped away from the three confused girls. He glanced toward the three Angels.  
"Take them far away from here," he commanded the Angels, "See that they come to no harm. Protect them with your lives,"  
"Waitaminute!" Misato said.  
The three Angels stepped forward and picked up the three girls in his arms.  
"Hey, let go!" Misato struggled against the Angel, much to no avail, "We're not going anywhere!"  
"Sorry, but this is no longer your fight," Shinji said, near the brink of tears, "It's been nice knowing you guys. Farewell,"  
"No! Wait! I don't want to go!" Asuka struggled to free herself as the Angels started to take to the skies.  
"I hope things turn out well for you all," he said, waving them goodbye.  
"W-will we ever see you again?" Asuka shouted.  
"No," he said.  
Before long, the three girls was too far away for their protests to be heard.  
It was then Shinji fell down to his hands and knees and began sobbing.  
Shinji had cried for a few hours. When he was able to shed no more tears, he realized that he needed to prepare for the inevitable battle.  
Unit-01 was able to lift the Lance as Shinji had expected. Unfortunately, the Lance didn't mysteriously morph in to a giant version of itself much like the Lance of Longinus would. It remained in its constant state, a weapon seemingly meant for human hands.  
Shinji waited patiently within the cockpit of Unit-01 for what was to come. He had no idea when he would have to fight, but he had a funny feeling that it would not be long from now.  
Knowing that he would be fighting an omnipotent opponent before long, Shinji had summoned close what probably amounted to billion Angels, all of them currently standing by the feet of Unit-01, waiting to be sent in to battle. From inside his cockpit, Shinji looked about, noticing the sea of Angels in every direction. It gave him a rather queasy feeling and a sense of claustrophobia. It wasn't because the entry plug was claustrophobic but rather the sense that if he made Unit-01 step in any direction, several dozen Angels would get crushed under her giant feet.  
"Um, wait in the sky," Shinji said.  
All at once, the Angels did his bidding, their wings opening up as they took to the sky. When Shinji looked up, he noticed that the sun was partially blocked due to the vast quantity of Angels hovering high above. "I guess that's better," Shinji told himself. He still felt a bit weirded out. This was because looking up at the sky, it looked like a blanket bodies was covering the entire world, Angels hovering in the sky for as far as the eye could see.  
With the ground free of Angels, Shinji made Unit-01 pace back and forth, a way of keeping his mind occupied. He was so nervous that he wondered if he should stick a finger down his throat and force himself to throw up. Perhaps that would help get rid of that queasy feeling he was getting.  
Deciding against it, Shinji continued to wait with anxious patience.

Shinji ran up to the Lance and tried to pick it up. When he realized that he still couldn't lift it, he turned back around and ran up the angled arm of Unit-01 and got back in.  
A full had had passed since he came back to this world. Since he came back, every few hours, Shinji would have Unit-01 place the weapon on the ground where he would then climb out of the EVA and run up to the weapon and attempt to lift it. When it failed to budge, Shinji would then head back in to Unit-01 and continue waiting. As he waited, he wanted to makes sure the he couldn't lift the Lance every few hours. This was because he truly believed that that more time that elapsed, the greater his strength became. It would only be a matter of time before he would be able to wield it with his own hands.  
In the meanwhile, it seemed like he was far from being able to do so.  
Standing on the shoulder of Unit-01, Shinji summoned for one of the Angels to approach him. Two days had passed before he decided to give something different a try.  
When the Angel hovered down to come, Shinji asked, "Do you think it'll be possible for me to fly if, say, I attached your wings to my back?"  
"Yes," the Angel replied, "You can do whatever you want and it will happen,"  
"If I can do whatever I want, then how come I can't do something like lift that one weapon I need to be able to lift?"  
The Angel said nothing.  
"Can you lend me your wings?" Shinji asked.  
The Angel reached behind his back and ripped of his own wings. Before gravity had a chance to take its course, a new pair of wings sprouted out from the Angel's back, flapping and allowing the Angel to continue hovering.  
Shinji was rather surprised to see that but composed himself. He took the wings from the Angel and pressed it up to his back. When he let go, it just fell down on to the armor plating of Unit-01's shoulder where Shinji had been standing.  
Shinji sighed. He figured something like that wouldn't work. He picked the wings back up and pressed them once again against his back, envisioning those wings attaching itself to his back.  
When Shinji released his hold of the wings, it yielded the same results.  
He did a series of trial-and-errors, varying each successive attempt ever-so-  
slightly. Before long, Shinji was shirtless facing his back toward the Angel as the Angel tried to put the wings on him.  
After a while of trying, Shinji sighed and decided to give up.  
"I'll never get it," Shinji sighed.  
"It'll simply take a matter of time," the Angel commented, "Your powers are only slowly beginning to surface,"  
"Time is something I have no idea how much I have of," Shinji said.  
"Unfortunately, being able to help you surface your dormant powers is something I can't do," the Angel said.  
Shinji said, "It's okay. Don't worry about it. Thanks anyway,"  
Three days passed.  
By then, Shinji was wondering if he was even in the right place. Perhaps he was supposed to be out looking for Urd and Ranma. But then again, there was a chance that Urd was looking for him. Since she didn't really know where he had been all this time, she would most likely show up here, hoping that he would be here.  
One late afternoon, just as Shinji was climbing back in to Unit-01 after yet another failed attempt at lifting the weapon with his own hands, his curiosity of when Urd was going to show up was answered.  
Shinji hit his head on the top of the cockpit when a massive beam of light shot down from the heavens and struck an area in front of Unit-01.  
"What the?" he asked.  
Looking at the screen, he saw an image of a freshly created crater around fifty-feet in diameter a few hundred feet in front of where he was.  
His heart started racing at a mile a minute as he maneuvering Unit-01 forward and up to the edge of the crater.  
Peering in to the center of crater, Shinji was shocked to see Urd slowly getting up to her feet. Her clothes were partially torn and she looked hurt. "Urd!" Shinji called out to her, pressing a button to the exterior speakers.  
Urd looked up. For woman that was basically all-knowing, she seemed awfully surprised to find herself looking up at Unit-01 as Unit-01 looked down at her.  
"It's me, Shinji," Shinji called out.  
Urd slowly got to her feet. She had trouble responding, still disoriented. Although a woman would most likely consider it a cheesy pick-up line if a man ever made a comment like that, she really did fall from Heaven. The impact had actually knocked the wind out of her.  
Shinji, in a moment of concern, forgot of what was sure to come after Urd's arrival, powered down Unit-01 and ejected the entry plug. Climbing out of the EVA, Shinji made his way to the ground and down the crater to where Urd was. He grabbed a hold of her as she staggered toward him and fell forward.  
"Urd, are you all right?" he asked, concern in his voice.  
Urd looked up toward Shinji, a look of relief on her face, "Y-you're finally back. You are one heck of a sight for sore eyes,"  
She back away from Shinji and took a moment to compose herself. She straightened her hair and dusted some dust from her clothes.  
"Are you okay?" Shinji asked, noticing the trickle of blood coming down the side of her forehead.  
Urd nodded, "Yeah. It's not much. Just a small cut," She regarded Shinji for a moment, "Man, you sure grew up since I last saw you,"  
"Um, t-thanks," he said, "But that's besides the point. What's going on here? How's everything going?"  
"Ranma's hot on my tail," Urd said, "He'll be here any minute. This is the first time I've had to catch my breath in over a week. What the heck is Unit-01 here?"  
"I can't wield the weapon by myself," Shinji said, "I'm using Unit-01 to wield it,"  
Urd's eyes widened, "What? You can't do that!"  
"I-I can't?" Shinji's eyes widened, the blood draining from his face.  
"Only God can kill God," Urd said, "You need to fight him, not have Unit-01 fight him,"  
Shinji nodded, "I know about God only being able to kill God. However, I had Unit-01 take in an Angel before I came here,"  
Urd thought for a moment, "Oh, I didn't realize that. Unit-01 taking in an Angel gives it God-properties so it is possible,"  
"That's what I was hoping," Shinji said.  
Urd seemed impress, "Not bad, Shinji. Good thinking. However, there's no real need to use Unit-01. You can wield the weapon yourself. All you need is time so that your dormant powers could surface and you could wield it. Considering how long it's been since we last split, you should've had plenty of time,"  
Shinji shook his head, "No, I can't lift it. It's too heavy,"  
Urd was confused, "What? That shouldn't be possible. You're more than strong enough to lift it. You can lift Unit-01 if you wanted to,"  
"What? I can?" Shinji's eyes widened, "That can't be possible. I just tried lifting it, the weapon that is, and I can't even budge it,"  
"That doesn't make sense," Urd said, "All you need to do is just accept what you have become and simply 'will' yourself to possess the strength to do so,"  
"I tried," Shinji said, "But it doesn't seem to work. I also tried picturing the Lance being really light and myself being really strong and I still can't budge it,"  
Urd shook her head, "That shouldn't be possible,"  
Shinji shrugged, "I haven't a clue why I can't lift it,"  
She waved a dismissive hand, "It doesn't matter anyway. You have Unit-01. With that, you're more than a match for Ranma. I guess now is where we together make our stand against Ranma,"  
"What do you want me to do?" Shinji asked.  
"What else, pilot Unit-01 to the best of your of your abilities," Urd said, "You need to kill Ranma using the Lance. However, you only have one chance,"  
Shinji gulped, "O-one chance?"  
"C'mon, you know Ranma," Urd said, "Once you try and use something on Ranma, you can never use it again,"  
Shinji sighed. Although he hated to admit, Shinji knew Urd was right about that. Ranma was extremely adaptive and could only be fooled once.  
"I still don't know what I should do," Shinji said.  
"I can't help you on that," Urd hovered to the skies, "I don't even know what I should be doing also. As to what you should do, you need to figure it out on your own. You can't expect to have people walking you by the hand anymore. I'm sure you learned that wherever you've been all this time,"  
Shinji said nothing.  
Urd looked up in the sky where she finally noticed the billions of Angels hovering around high up in the air, blocking out most of the sun. She couldn't help but smile at Shinji's plan. It was a good idea to summon Angels to his aide, but dealing against an opponent as powerful as Ranma, they would be of little use.  
"I summoned 'em," Shinji said, figuring Urd was going to ask where they came from, "I learned to summon Angels and figure they can be of use. With this many around, they can be of good use,"  
Urd smirked, "Remember the other God-version of Ranma, the one that couldn't fight?"  
"Yeah, what about him?" Shinji asked.  
"He killed billions of Angels and he didn't know how to fight," Urd said, "This Ranma's just as powerful. But this time around, he knows how to fight,"  
Shinji said nothing.  
Urd looked up toward the sky where she saw Ranma.  
"Shinji, you better get in to Unit-01, and fast," Urd said.  
"Why?" Shinji asked.  
Urd pointed upward.  
"The Final Battle is at hand,"  
Shinji was terrified about what was in store for him but he knew he could not run away.  
"I mustn't run away," he told himself over and over. Whether or not it helped calm his never, not even Shinji knew.  
Urd was forced to dive out of the way as a dark object landed right by where she was. She quickly hovered high in to the air, looking over her shoulder toward the center of the crater. Within a tiny crater within the larger crater, Shinji and Urd saw Ranma in a kneeling position.  
From within the cockpit of Unit-01, although Ranma looked exactly like the billions of Angels hovering high above, Shinji knew that that Ranma was the one he would be fighting. There was an easy distinction between Ranma and an Angel. There was this pervasive aura to Ranma Shinji could sense and see. Shinji found himself paralyzed with fear as he watched through the screen Ranma standing up and looking toward him. Ranma's face showed no form of emotions, a mere mask hiding whatever torment that he kept bottled deep inside. Seeing him made Shinji realize that the Ranma he knew was no more. This Ranma only looked like the Ranma he knew. That was it. The Ranma looking back at him was the one Ranma Shinji feared and respected. His friend's personality had been replaced by the same personality as of the God-version of Ranma, a man that grew up with a hated name, a personality very similar to the one that had recently killed himself with the weapon originally intended to kill this particular Ranma.  
In a world where something such as good and evil existed much like black and white, Ranma was neither, more along the lines of a shade of gray. That was the way the real Ranma was and the way this Ranma was as well. It was hard to explain how that was possible. It was clear, from anyone's point of view, that he was best considered evil. However, if one thought about it some more, would him becoming what he became could be justified. It was all because of his upbringing and how humanity treated him. Had he not been treated so badly, perhaps he would not have so much resentment about living.  
Shinji was startled when Urd's voice entered his mind telepathically.  
"Shinji, now's your chance!" he heard Urd's voice, "He doesn't recognize you or consider you a threat. Use the element of surprise to catch him off-guard,"  
Shinji looked down at his hands and noticed them twitching as he gripped at the controls. He found himself unable to move, even unable to respond to Urd's command.  
Shinji's opportunity was lost when Ranma turned his attention away from Unit-  
01 and up toward Urd as she hovered high above him.  
"How long do you intend to run?" Ranma sneered, slicing a hand through the air in front of him in the direction of Urd.  
With lightning speed, Urd hovered backwards, away from the blade-like energy blast that shot for from Ranma's hands, growing exponentially as it got farther and farther away from him, eventually stopping expanding when it looked like a hundred meter curved blade.  
Her gaze followed the direction of the energy blast upward toward the sky. When the energy blast struck the blanket of Angels still hovering high above awaiting command, several thousands of them were sliced in half, the energy blast continuing to travel skyward, disappearing beyond the heavens where it would travel onward for infinitely. Urd had to hover away as the dismembered bodies of the Angels rained down from above.  
"Shinji, what are you waiting for?" he heard Urd's voice again.  
"I-I-I c-can't m-move!" Shinji shouted within the cockpit, not really knowing if he was going to be heard. He was too terrified. He didn't know why his body wasn't moving. He had dealt with life-or-death situations like this and had never been paralyzed with fear before. Why was it happening to him now? After a second, Shinji realized why. All those life-or-death situations paled in comparison to what he was facing.  
"A-a-attack!" Shinji shouted, commanding his army of Angels to attack Ranma.  
Shinji threw up within the cockpit of Unit-01, the contents of his stomach emptying out in to the LCL fluid where it floated around in front of him. The sight of seeing his own vomit made him even more sick and want to vomit again.  
Fighting back the urge to vomit a second time, Shinji clicked on a button that force drained the interior of the entry plug of all its LCL fluids and the piece of that lunch he had in Germany via an opening by the base of the entry plug. Outside of Unit-01, the contents were spewed out of a small opening located right by the EVA's right armpit.  
Shinji coughed a couple times to rid his lungs of the LCL fluids as well, wondering if he made the right decision. Without the LCL fluid inside of the entry plug, he could easily get banged around a lot within the cockpit since the fluid usually kept him from being bounced all over the place within the entry plug.  
Not really caring about his decision, Shinji looked at the screen and caught sight of millions and million of energy blasts converge on Ranma right where he stood. Unit-01 was blown bodily backward when a massive explosion erupted took place, the shockwave sending the EVA flying backwards a good hundred feet where she ended up landing on her back and coming to a sliding halt.  
When Shinji sat upright and looked at the screen, he was shocked at what he saw. The screen was bright white, the Angels continuing to shoot energy blasts at Ranma, the explosion seemingly growing larger and larger.  
Shinji made Unit-01 get back on to her feet where he was forced to back away from the growing explosion. Unfortunately, Shinji couldn't back away fast enough from the growing explosion and was eventually consumed as well.  
Inside Unit-01, Shinji could see nothing but white on the screen as he was being shaken around within the cockpit. Unable to really do anything, Shinji held on to the controls tightly while he prayed that Unit-01's armor was powerful enough to survive this.  
This continued on for several moment, the Angels not letting up on their barrage of energy blasts.  
Before long, Shinji found himself getting pretty banged up within the cockpit as the ground suddenly fell out from below Unit-01's feet. This was because the explosion was so massive that it eventually melted through the ground all the way down in to this world's GeoFront.  
Unit-01 crashed on the floor of GeoFront with bone shattering force. Within the cockpit, several of Shinji's bones were broken from being bounced around so hard within. Of course, he never felt it, his powers kicking in and healing the instant he got hurt.  
Out from inside of the explosion, being banged around the cockpit breaking that his paralysis, Shinji made Unit-01 get up to her feet and looked around. Looking up, he could see a giant opening in the ceiling. Raining down from that opening were millions of energy blasts as they all converged on the area of GeoFront where Ranma had fallen down to.  
Not wanting to get caught in the blast again, Shinji made Unit-01 run away from the growing explosion, running as far as he could, eventually stopping when he reached the wall. Turning around, Shinji yelped in surprise when he noticed the explosion continuing to expand and would eventually reach him where he was.  
"Stop!" Shinji shouted.  
In an instant, the shower of energy blasts stopped and the explosion started to subside. When the dust cleared up, Shinji found himself looking down in to a giant crater where he saw Ranma standing in the middle of that crater, unscathed.  
The blast had been so intense that it basically created a crater so large that it made GeoFront look more like a gigantic spherical chamber a mile in diameter with a massive hole on the top instead of what it used to look like, an upside-  
down bowl. In actuality, the hole that lead to GeoFront made it look much like an hourglass, GeoFront being the bottom half and the giant crater on the surface being the top half.  
"Oh my God!" Shinji gasped at the destruction. In a matter of seconds, probably without breaking a sweat, the Angels managed to cause the amount of destruction that required five high-yield N2 mines, perhaps even more.  
The blood drained from Shinji's face when he saw Ranma. He was unscathed.  
Looking up toward the opening in GeoFront, Ranma sneered.  
He then leapt up in to the air, taking to the sky in flight much like Urd, disappearing through the opening.  
When he realized what had happened, Shinji made Unit-01 jump up in to the air as well, landing on the down slope of the topside crater. Once there, he took a moment to look around to find out where Ranma and Urd were, immediately spotting Ranma. Ranma was hovering high in the air, attacking the Angels with his own energy blasts and killing off tens of thousands at a time. The Angels didn't retaliate, staying where they were and awaiting their next commands.  
"Attack!" Shinji shouted, realizing he had made a mistake.  
The Angels began attacking. All the Angels shot at Ranma with energy blasts once again, all of the projectiles converging on him where he hovered.  
The sky was lit brightly from the massive mid-air explosion.  
Even though Shinji had trouble seeing through the brilliant light, he was able to spot Urd as she hovered down to where Unit-01 was.  
"Urd," Shinji said in relief, his voice sounding on the external speakers, "You're safe,"  
"Thanks to you," Urd's voice popped in to his head, "Good job on distracting Ranma. His attacks are getting harder and harder to dodge. Anyway, Ranma's distracted, use this opportunity to finish him off,"  
He looked at the weapon still held firmly in Unit-01's hands. "Um, o-okay," Shinji said.  
Fighting back the extreme sense of fear he was feeling right now, Shinji made Unit-01 do a running jump, reaching upward and grabbing Ranma with her free hand.  
When he landed safely on the ground, Shinji looked at Ranma as he was held firmly in Unit-01's hands. Ranma was held in a way such that his arms were by his side while Unit-01's hand was holding him, only his head being out from the top of the clenched fist.  
Ranma had this rather confused look on his face. He had no idea why he had suddenly started getting attacked by all these creatures that looked much like him. Didn't they realize he was busy trying to kill Urd? Due to his vindictive personality, Ranma wanted to destroy all the Angels that had attacked him, that being all of them. However, as he was fighting the Angels, he found himself suddenly grabbed by this giant purple robot.  
He didn't do anything for several moments, regarding the robot in annoyance. If the robot knew what was good for it, it would let him go or risk being destroyed.  
"Kill him! Now!" Shinji heard Urd's voice loudly, "Now! Now! Now! Stab him with the Lance!"  
Shinji found himself distracted. He couldn't believe it. He was going to kill Ranma. He was going to kill the man that trained him. All that he had been through had finally lead to this particular point in time. Although Ranma had trained him well to be a competent fighter. It was his experience on the world where he had just come from that had made him ready to do what he was about to do.  
"Goodbye, Ranma," Shinji said, tears starting to fall down his cheeks, "Farewell,"  
The half-second hesitation was a half-second too long. Before Shinji was able to plunge the weapon in to Ranma's chest as Unit-01 held him, Ranma sneered.  
"Enough!" he said.  
Shinji's eyes were blinded by a bright light as Ranma released an energy blast from his hands, a massive explosion occurring.  
Even though his arms were up against his side, Ranma didn't seem to care about being within such proximity.  
The blast erupted within Unit-01's gripping hand and was so powerful that it blew the EVA's hand right off at the wrist. When the light subsided, Shinji started in wide-eye shock at the screen in front of him. He found himself looking at a stump at the end of Unit-01's forearm, Ranma hovering in mid-air right where the hand used to be, a smirk on his face.  
"Now it's my turn," Ranma said.  
Ranma waved a hand in Unit-01's general direction.  
In a brilliant flash of light, Unit-01 self-destructed.

Shinji opened his eyes. He found himself lying on his back and looking up at the dark sky. It seems the dark clouds had blanketed the world once again and was raining heavily.  
He sat upright, his head hurting him. He was disoriented and had no real idea where he was. All he knew was that he was wet. He wasn't cold, but he was wet. It took him a moment to gather his thoughts. He had no real idea how he got wherever he was in the first place. The last thing he remember was being in the cockpit of Unit-01 and seeing a bright light one second, and then finding himself waking up amidst pouring rain in a location he had no idea where.  
He looked around and saw nothing. All he could see was flat land for as far as the eye could see, given what little light there was due to the bad weather.  
He noticed that Unit-01 didn't seem to be anywhere nearby.  
Thinking things over, he came to the sudden realization that he never had the chance to kill Ranma. When he realized that Ranma was most likely very much alive, he realized what probably happened to him.  
"Oh my God! Ranma blew up Unit-01 with me in it!" he gasped.  
He looked down at himself and noticed that he seemed perfectly fine. He had no wounds and wasn't bleeding anywhere. As he checked himself out, he suddenly realized something.  
He was stark naked. Funnily enough, he didn't seem to cover himself up right away in embarrassment. Instead, he looked around to see if there was anyone around. There were none.  
Still a bit disoriented, Shinji looked around. He had no idea where he was and needed to find out.  
The first thing he did was make the bad weather go away. When it went away, it reveal the morning sun. Seeing the sun made Shinji realize that he must've been out for quite a while. He must've been out for close to an least one day. This was because the battle against had taken place one late afternoon and it was now early morning.  
Shinji wondered why he had been out for so long. He figured he could never get knocked out anymore. Then again, perhaps the fact that he most likely got incinerated at an atomic level meant it would take longer for him to wake up.  
He noticed the sky was clear, not a single Angel found. He assumed that Ranma had killed them afterwards. Little did Shinji know that all the Angels were killed in the same explosion that Shinji had been in as well.  
Getting up to his feet, he wondered what he should do next. Since he was still around, he had a good feeling that after what had happened, Urd ran away while Ranma chased after her.  
Curious as to exactly where he was, he decided he wanted to get a bird's eye view of the surrounding area. He summoned an Angel. When the Angel arrived Shinji didn't seem to make all that much an effort to conceal himself. Something like that was trivial given the current situation. Besides, it wasn't as if there were any girls around. That would be different.  
"You summoned me?" the Angel asked.  
"Yeah, um, first off, you wouldn't happen to have any spare clothes you can lend me, do you?" Shinji asked.  
"I have no spare clothes," the Angel said.  
"Um, can I borrow your shirt then?" Shinji asked. He figured he could wrap the shirt around his waist to help keep a sense of modesty.  
The Angel said, "I'm sorry but I have no clothes. The clothes you see is actually a part of me,"  
"Oh," Shinji said, "Um, nevermind,"  
"Would you like me to get you a pair of clothes that fit you?" the Angel asked.  
"Yeah, please," Shinji said, "It doesn't matter what kinda clothes though,"  
"Very well," the Angel acknowledged. Saying nothing more, the Angel turned west and flew off at well beyond supersonic speeds. Shinji realized this when he heard the sonic boom always heard whenever the sound barrier was broken.  
"Hm, it seems like Angels can move faster than the speed of sound," Shinji said, "I guess they only moved at that speed so it could allow us to talk while traveling if we ever needed to say anything,"  
With on task delegated to an Angel to fetch him some clothes, Shinji realized he still needed to figure out where he was. He summoned a second Angel.  
The Angel arrived in no time.  
"You summoned me?" the Angel asked.  
"Yeah," Shinji said, point up, "Can you fly me high up in to the sky. I wanna get a good look at my surroundings from the sky to see where I am,"  
"Very well,"

Shinji was speechless when he looked down at the world from his high vantage point.  
There was a giant crater where Japan used to be. Unit-01's self-destruction had been so powerful that it vaporized the country completely along with all of Korea. The crater was thousands and thousands of miles in diameter, stretching outward and reaching as far as parts of China and Russia.  
As he looked down at the crater, he could see the sea water from the Pacific Ocean, Philippine Sea, and East China Sea rushing to fill in the crater. What amazed Shinji was that he had been out for almost an entire day and the waters had been rushing in since then. The crater was simply that big that that waters hadn't even managed to make it up to where Shinji had woken up. It would take weeks for a crater that big to be filled up with seawater. It was that big.  
"Oh my god," Shinji gasped, "I can't believe I'm seeing what I'm seeing,"  
What Shinji was seeing was just the tip of the iceberg. The explosion had been so powerful that it slightly altered Earth's orbit around the sun, altering it just enough that the seasons would begin several weeks earlier than usual. An example would be unseasonably warm weather in the dead of winter. Because of something like this, the world would have to alter the expected time of when a season would begin.  
Tsunamis had wiped out the entire west coast of North and South America. Hundreds of Tectonic plates had formed around Asia which would inevitable result in a higher frequency of earthquakes. Because the explosion managed to reach the coastline of China, the casualty was actually worse than the initial result of Second Impact, over a billion people killed in the explosion itself. By the time Shinji was looking down at the devastation of the explosion, the world had suffered a far worse fate than Second Impact. This was because the first resulting shockwave from the explosion was likened to that of an earthquake of 9.3 on the Richter Scale. The second shockwave, which occurred seconds afterwards, had similar effects of an earthquake of around 5.6 on the Richter Scale. The actual explosion and the two resulting shockwaves had resulted in more than the deaths of seventy-five percent of the world's population. What was funny was that more deaths were to come since the full effects of the explosion had yet to be felt.  
"I think I'm gonna puke," Shinji commented when he noticed just how much destruction had occurred. He turned toward the Angel.  
"All right, I've seen enough. You can set me down now,"  
Shinji wondered if Misato, Ritsuko, and Asuka were all right.  
He had no idea if they were. He believed that they were, what with the fact that they each had an Angel watching over them and protecting them. Unfortunately, all he could do was speculate that they were all right.  
Not long after touching back down on the firm soil at the center-most portion of the crater, Shinji was surprised to be approached by the first Angel he had sent off to fetch him some clothes. The Angel did indeed have clothes in his hands, clothes that seemed perfectly suitable for him. After he got dressed, he noticed he was wearing what looked like a traditional kung-fu outfit, similar to the clothes Ranma liked to sport.  
Shinji wondered exactly where the Angel got the clothes from and so quickly but he decided against asking. He assumed the Angel actually flew all the way to China, swiped some clothes, most likely looting a store in the anarchy that the world was experiencing at the moment, and flew back.  
The task had taken the Angel no more than an hour to carry out. "Um, thanks," Shinji said, "Um, you may go now,"  
The Angel graciously said goodbye and took to the skies, disappearing beyond the heavens. With one Angel still remaining, Shinji felt at ease. He knew it would be soon before the seawater rushing in to fill up the crater would eventually reach where he was.  
"Damn, what the heck am I gonna do now?" Shinji asked, pacing back and forth, "How am I gonna defeat Ranma? The Lance is gone. It was blown up along with Unit-01,"  
The Angel pointed toward something several hundred feet from where Shinji was.  
"I don't think the Lance was blown up as you say," the Angel said, "Isn't that the Lance?"  
Shinji looked over toward where the Angel was pointing. Unable to see what the Angel was pointing at, he headed in that general direction. As he walked, he caught sight of something sticking out of the ground.  
When he realized that it really was the Lance, his eyes widened, "You're right! That's the Lance!"  
It seems like the Lance landed only a short distance from ground zero. This was because when Unit-01 blew up, the weapon was blown straight up. When gravity finally took effect and brought it back down, it landed very close by. "It seems like it wasn't blown up," the Angel commented, "The Lance looks intact,"  
"Maybe I might still have a chance," Shinji said, walking up to the Lance.  
Before he touched the Lance, he closed his eyes and stood there in deep thought.  
"Please let me be able to wield this Lance," he said as if praying to an unseen God. He knew that this was his last chance. If he could not wield the Lance, then he would be out of luck. There was no way he could defeat Ranma one-  
on-one, and if he was unable to use the one weapon that would give him an advantage, then he would be screwed.  
Placing a hand on the Lance, Shinji took several deep breaths.  
After a moment, Shinji tried to lift the Lance.  
It didn't budge. For several long minutes, Shinji tried to lift it with all his might, thinking whatever he could think to 'will' the Lance to be wield, much to know avail.  
Before long, Shinji leaned his back against the Lance and slid down to a sitting position on the ground, the back of his head resting against the shaft of the Lance.  
"I'm screwed. My wielding the Lance is outta the question,"  
"What does that mean?" the Angel asked.  
"It means the only option I have left is fighting Ranma in hand-to-hand combat,"

new stuff 12/28

Shinji hung his head low. He was still by where the Lance stuck in the ground, still sitting on the ground and leaning his back against the weapon. Standing silently nearby was the Angel, awaiting command. He would be needed soon since it was only a matter of time before the seawater in the process of filling up the giant crater will eventually converge on Shinji's location.  
For the past half-hour, he visualized the kind of battle he would have against Ranma, all of them ending with the same result, the easy and utter defeat of Shinji.  
Shinji knew, without a shadow of a doubt, that he would not be able to beat Ranma. Sure, there were many movies about how a student eventually grew to surpass his or her master...  
"But this ain't the goddamn movies!" Shinji said, "What the hell am I gonna do?"  
As he continued to look toward the ground, wondering what he was going to do, he heard the Angel say something.  
"Someone is coming this way," the Angel repeated, pointing.  
Shinji turned toward the Angel, "Huh?"  
Did he hear that correctly? Someone was coming this way? How was that possible? Everything was incinerated within several thousand miles from where he was.  
Looking toward where the Angel was pointing, Shinji caught sight of a figure indeed walking toward them.  
He squinted, wondering who could it possibly be and how it was possible that someone was there in the first place. He got up to his feet but stood where he was, very confused.  
Before long, Shinji found himself recognizing the figure as she got close enough for him to distinguish her features.  
"R-Rei?"  
Rei was naked. Although she was naked, Shinji seemed to be completely unaware of that. This was because he was simply in a state of shock He looked at her and noticed that this was not the Rei he recently helped evacuate from Nerv. This was the Rei he knew. This was the one from his own world. "W-w-what...h-how..." he stammered.  
"I'm here to help you," she said.  
"W-where did you come from?" he managed to asked.  
"I was always here. The difference was that I didn't become Ranma,"

Rei and Ranma were merged as one person once.  
When they were split, Rei was every bit as susceptible to becoming what Ranma became. Everyone seemed to have forgotten that. Actually, the only person that knew Rei was safe from the fate that Ranma suffered was Ranma himself. Ranma had determined that he and she both had AT Fields. It was a conversation long forgotten that had occurred between the two of them when the Angels attacked this world.  
Rei remembered the conversation quite well, like it had happened yesterday. It was a time when she had he had been alone one day...

"Rei, can I speak with you?" Ranma had asked.  
Rei looked up at Ranma and softly said, "Yes," She and Ranma were alone. Everyone had gone on ahead toward, having decided to visit the bathhouse after spending half the day at the beach. It was nearing evening.  
"What is it you wanted to speak to me about?" she asked.  
"Remember that night you walked in on me while I was in the bathtub?" he began.  
"Yes,"  
"Well, after our little talk, I bumped into Saffron," he said, "We talked for a short while...about you,"  
"Oh?" she said, blushing a bit. She didn't really know what to think. "Anyway, Saffron mentioned about you having a strong will," Ranma said, "And it got me thinking. You're like an Angel, just like I am. Since I have an AT field, that means you must have one also,"  
"I don't understand what you are saying," she replied.  
"I think that is what makes you so strong," Ranma said with a warm smile, "While I have some kinda physical AT field, you have a mental one. Perhaps that is why you are able to deal with so many situations without simply breaking down and crying, because you have a strong AT field,"  
Rei was silent.  
"Anyway, I just wanted to letcha know that it's perfectly all right to let that AT field down and simply cry. Afterall," He smiled, "I remembered seeing you laugh back there at the bathhouse over two months ago, you were actually having fun,"  
Rei was silent. All she could do was smile a bit.  
Through the spoken word, Ranma was slowly neutralizing Rei's impenetrable AT field that she had put up so long ago.  
Ranma placed a hand on Rei's shoulder, "C'mon, let's catch up with the others,"

Rei did indeed have a strong will, a strong mental AT Field. She had always had one, thus, her general lack of emotions. Her AT Field was every bit as powerful mentally as Ranma's was physically.  
That was why her personality never became similar to Ranma's, because she was able to fight off that pervasive personality that had consumed Ranma's. That personality was basically a disease that she was immune to due to her strong mental AT Field.  
She went on to explain all of this to Shinji as Shinji tried to comprehend what he was hearing. When she was done, he seemed to be in a state of shock. Wanting time to think to himself, Shinji excused himself. By then, he finally realized that Rei had been naked all this time when speaking to him.  
Although she seemed unbothered by it, Shinji was. He summoned an Angel to come by so it could go fetch some clothes for her. The Angel showed up by Shinji, was told what to do, and then took off toward the west, leaving behind Shinji and Rei and the Angel.  
Shinji could've sent the Angel waiting next to him to fetch some clothes for Rei but he decided against it. He wanted an Angel around all the time because he had no real idea when the seawater rushing in to the crater would eventually reach where he was. He needed the Angel to fly him out of trouble when the time comes.  
When the Angel arrived with a pair of clothes, a Chinese outfit similar to what Shinji was wearing but only small, Rei put them on. "How is it possible that you're here now?" he asked, "I-I saw you dead, like everyone else,"  
"It took me a few days before I came back," she answered.  
Shinji said nothing. He remembered how it took him a few days to come back after he was first killed. If that was true, then that could explain it. He suddenly blushed at the thought that he had buried Rei. If she recovered from her injuries much like him, then she would've found herself buried alive. His kind gesture to give a place of rest seemed to have been anything but that for Rei. As to how she got out, he didn't bother asking.  
"After a few days, I came back, I came looking for you," Rei said, "But you were gone,"  
Shinji said nothing once again. He was only gone from this world for only a day or so before he brought back the Ranma that killed himself. By the time she had came back to this world alive, Ranma had killed himself and Shinji had left for the other world.  
His eyes widened. If that was true, then that was why Rei's grave looked disturbed when he came back with Unit-01 and the others. She had gotten out of her grave and had probably been wandering around looking for him for the past week or so while he was gone. However, what didn't make sense was that he had been on this world for a few days before he lost in a dismal fight against Ranma, resulting in the loss of billions of lives and Unit-01.  
"I was here for a while," Shinji said, "How come we didn't bump in to each other before?"  
"When I came to, I noticed you had left," Rei said, "I went to the world where you were,"  
"Y-y-you were on the same world as me?" Shinji's eyes widened.  
"I was on the world where you were," she said, "By the time I realized you had left that world, I came back here and found Japan destroyed,"  
Shinji suddenly realized that Rei was referring to the first world where Jun and that other Ranma existed. She had never been to the second world where he brought back Misato, Ritsuko, and Asuka. "How come you went to that world?" he asked, "Heck, how did you know to go to that world in the first place? How did you even get there?"  
"It was the most logical world where you would've gone or would've been sent," Rei stated, "If I needed help, I would go there as well to seek that world's Ranma's help,"  
"Um, you're right, but I was there for only a day or so before I found him and came back," Shinji said, wondering if Rei had always been smart enough to figure something like that out. Then again, he wasn't aware that she knew Shinji had loved Emiko all that time even before Shinji realized it, something people found out with surprise shortly after Shinji had gone to Emiko's world and after her.  
Then again, there could be a chance that being merged with Ranma for so long that some of his qualities started rubbing off on him. It was obvious that some of her qualities rubbed off on him, like him having Rei said, "I wandered around that world looking for you. When I didn't find you, I came back here only to find this crater. It seems like you failed to defeat Ranma with Unit-01,"  
"H-how'd ya know that?" Shinji asked, confused.  
"This is the same amount of destruction as when the other Unit-01 blew up when Ranma and I were merged as one person," Rei answered, "It's not that hard to realize that you must have gotten a hold of Unit-01 and brought it to this world only to have it destroyed in your encounter against Ranma.  
Shinji scratched his head, "Um, I guess you have a point there. You're right, I did get a hold of Unit-01 and it was destroyed. Man, how'd you figure something like that out based on just seeing a giant crater?"  
Rei shrugged.  
Shinji's lips became a thin line. Rei never shrugged her shoulders. That was a quirk Ranma used to do all the time. Could that perhaps mean that she being merged with Ranma all that time had made their personalities somewhat similar? If that was true, then what part of her personality was there in Ranma? Little did Shinji know that he seemed to do the same thing as well, shrug his shoulders. Could that mean something as well?  
Rei's personality slowly becoming much like Ranma's could explain why she seemed to act differently. Of course, the real reason had never crossed Shinji's mind. Rei tended to interact more freely with someone she had in common with. Rei interacted freely with Ranma much like the way she now interacted with Shinji, because they were very much a like now.  
"Um, do you have any idea how we are going to defeat Ranma?" Shinji asked, wanting to change the subject.  
Rei walked over to where the Lance was and picked it up with no problems. Shinji's jaw dropped to the floor when he saw that. The Lance was insanely heavy but she held it as if it weighed nothing.  
"H-how'd you do that?" he had to ask.  
"I used to have these powers when Ranma and I were merged," she said softly, "I needed a short while to remember how to use them. You are learning powers that I've learned long ago,"  
"C-can you show me how to use 'em?" Shinji asked quickly, "I don't know how to lift it,"  
Rei stuck the Lance back down on the ground, "Just accept what you have become and simply 'will' yourself to possess the strength to do so," "Urd said the same thing. I tried do that but I doesn't seem to work for me," Shinji said, "I don't know what I'm doing wrong. Do you know?"  
Rei said nothing for a moment, "It doesn't make sense why you shouldn't be able to lift it,"  
"That's what I've been trying to ask myself all this time,"

Shinji assumed a role he had been used to for most of his life, following someone else's instructions. He and Rei found themselves waiting patiently, Shinji sitting on the ground and leaning his back against the Lance while Rei stood, her back toward Shinji and leaning against the Lance as well.  
At Rei's suggestion, he decided that it was indeed best that they wait for Urd and Ranma to show back up. When they did, he would fight against Ranma to distract him so that Rei could make the killing blow with the Lance. Besides, it was much better this way since Rei would be of no use trying to actually fight against Ranma since she had no fighting abilities. Another reason was that Rei seemed to have the ability to steel her emotions so that she could make the killing blow, Shinji's momentary hesitation in doing so resulting in Unit-01's destruction.  
More importantly, Rei was the only one that could wield the Lance. Sure, Urd could wield it, but she might be needed to distract Ranma as well. That way, if she and Shinji were distracting Ranma, it was more probably that Rei could succeed with landing the killing blow.  
Shinji had resigned himself of trying to lift the Lance. That was why wielding it should be Rei's responsibility. Perhaps he just wasn't meant to wield it, even if it was meant specifically for him and Urd and Rei said he should be capable of lifting it. "I hope they show up soon," Shinji said, trying to make conversation, "I have no idea when this crater will be filled up,"  
Rei said nothing, ignoring the comment.  
"Um, you think we should summon some Angels as well?" he asked, "They could be of help,"  
"They're useless," she said, unbothered about making that comment in the presence of the one Angel still by where they were. Shinji glanced over toward the Angel standing nearby, "They're not useless. They helped me out greatly on the other world,"  
Of course, if he thought about it, the only help he would have needed was for the first Angel to be taken in to Unit-01, if that constituted as help. That way, he wouldn't had needed to go through all that he had gone through to attain Unit-01. Of course, it would also mean that that world would most likely be worse off, what with it not long having Unit-01 to protect them, than it is now. Shinji staying there and removing the threat of attacking Angels was a good choice.  
Rei continued to stare off toward the horizon. What was funny was that it wasn't even the horizon she was looking at. The edge of the crater was located so far away that it stretched beyond the curve of the Earth of which she was seeing.  
"Um, do you think Urd'll be coming by anytime soon?" he wondered aloud, "Last time I waited for a few days for her and Ranma to show up,"  
"Why does it matter?" Rei commented softly, "It's not like we need sleep or food,"  
Shinji was silent. Now that he thought about it, that was very true. When was the last time he actually felt tired and went to sleep because he was sleepy? When was the last time he ate because he was hungry? Him eating with Misato, Ritsuko, and Asuka when they were in Germany was merely out of curiosity, not necessity.  
"Um, well, if we hafta wait too long, then this crater will've filled up with seawater," Shinji commented, "I know how if you wanna be found, you should stay in the place where you were last seen, but what are we to do, wait over the ocean for them to arrive?"  
"If it must be, then fine," she said.  
"I can't fly. I dunno if you can, but I sure can't,"

Urd showed up around an hour after Shinji and Rei met up with one another.  
In similar fashion as before, she fell down from the sky, crashing to the ground nearby where Shinji and Rei were. However, unlike before, when Shinji ran up to where she was, she was unconscious, bleeding profusely from a large gash on her head and several others all over her body.  
"Oh my god!" Shinji gasped, checking Urd's pulse, "Her heartbeat's very faint,"  
Why the heck Urd even had a pulse, what with the fact that she is God afterall, was something that seemed unimportant at the moment.  
"Ranma will be showing up shortly," Shinji said in a hurried voice, "We've got to get ready,"  
Rei walked over to where the Lance was and picked it up out of the ground. Without saying a word, she headed off away from Shinji and Urd. They didn't need to go over the plan. As crazy and insane as the plan was, Shinji and Rei had talked enough about it to know exactly what to do.  
Shinji and Ranma would fight. Rei would silently stand a short distance away, waiting for an opportunity to launch the Lance in to Ranma's back once Shinji had managed to manipulate him in to a position where his back was toward Rei. Although Shinji was no match for Ranma in hand-to-hand combat or anything else for that matter, he knew that he was at least capable enough of drawing his attention away from Rei long enough so she could use the Lance to finish him off. Besides, it wasn't as if Ranma would pay her any mind since he would not view her as a threat and would thus not even pay attention to her. All Shinji needed to do was circle around Ranma while Ranma just pivoted to continuously face him, eventually resulting in Ranma's back facing toward Rei.  
Shinji's heart started racing at the thought of the inevitable fight.  
Looking up at the sky, he saw him descending from the heavens at an insane speed. Thinking fast on his feet and remembering what happened the last time, Shinji grabbed Urd and pulled her away from where she lay unconscious. A second later, Ranma struck the ground with both of his feet with thunderous force, a crater forming from the impact.  
When the dust cleared, Shinji and Urd were a safe distance away, Urd moved over by where Rei stood. Since Ranma needed to get to Urd, perhaps there was a chance Rei might have an opportunity to strike him down with the Lance when he close to her when he approached the unconscious Urd. This was just in case Ranma had decided to ignore fighting him and head straight for Urd that is.  
When the dust cleared out, Ranma had an annoyed look on his face as he knelt in the middle of the small crater and looked up toward Shinji, having seen what he had done.  
Ranma stood and climbed out of the crater as Shinji nervously watched.

new stuff 1/10

"R-Ranma!" Shinji stammered.  
Ranma regarded Shinji rather curiously, showing no signs of animosity nor friendship toward the young man. "Um, I'm not going to letcha hurt Urd anymore," Shinji said.  
"And you intend to stop me?" Ranma sneered.  
"Yeah," Shinji replied, slowly beginning to circle Ranma.  
Ranma stood where he was, regarding Shinji cautiously, unaware of what he was up to. However, Ranma started moving as well, pacing in the same direction as Shinji, making it seem like they were walking toward the side in the same direction.  
Shinji stopped, the color draining from his face. This was quite unexpected. What was even worse was that there was a chance that Ranma had already caught on to his and Rei's plan, what with Ranma being so darn perceptive.  
Figuring it was a fluke, Shinji tried to circle Ranma was again, Ranma also stepping in the same direction as he.  
Ranma narrowed his eyes on Shinji. He then looked over toward Rei and Urd where he saw Rei holding a weapon. The gears in his mind started turning. A moment later, he suddenly realized what was going on, that Shinji was most likely trying to distract him so the girl could use the weapon on him when he wasn't looking.  
Ranma stopped.  
Shinji stopped as well.  
Is he reading my moves, Shinji wondered. Does he know what's going on? Should I try and improvise or go with the original plan?  
Figuring it was better to go with the original plan, what with the fact that he had no contingency plan to go on, he decided to start circling him once again.  
Ranma remained standing, watching cautiously.  
Before long, Shinji managed to circle around Ranma so that Ranma's back was toward Rei as he continued to face the young man. "Now!" Shinji shouted toward Rei. Rei didn't hesitate for one second as she threw the Lance. Shinji was shocked when he saw her launch the weapon like the way an Olympic athlete would launch a javelin, throwing the Lance with tremendous force, so much that the ground below split from the speed, much like the way water would part when a plane flew over it.  
To Shinji's surprise, Ranma bobbed toward the right where the Lance flew right by where he was a second ago, missing him completely. The Lance flew right past Shinji where it hit the ground at a sharp angle and became partially imbedded in it, landing a good hundred or so yards behind Shinji.  
Shinji's eyes widened as he realized what had just happened. Ranma had somehow known about their plan and dodged at the very last second, Rei missing because of that.  
This led Shinji to realize just formidable an opponent Ranma was. Ranma was easily capable of realizing the trap they had set simply from observing his surroundings. The fact that Shinji was seeing Ranma's perception was unnerving.  
"Pathetic," Ranma sneered at their failed attempt.  
Shinji gulped, his mind racing as he wondered what he should do next. Rei seemed to know her role as she seemed to recover and realize she had missed. Without showing any sign of surprise, she headed in the general direction of where the Lance had impaled the ground, taking care to circle around Ranma in the process.  
Ranma, realizing where Rei was headed and believing her having the weapon might be a threat, decided to block her path. He turned his back toward Shinji and stepped toward the side to block Rei.  
Rei stopped dead in her tracks. Although her face showed no signs of worry, she did find herself nervous as to what she should do. She knew that Ranma had now turned his attention on to her. Ranma dodging, resulting in her missing him with the Lance, wasn't a part of the plan. Even worse, Ranma turning his attention on to her meant she could not get the Lance without having to deal with him first.  
She glanced past Ranma where she caught sight of Shinji running in the direction of the Lance. Seeing this, she realized that Shinji was going to try and retrieve the Lance in hopes of wielding it himself.  
I need to distract Ranma, Rei thought.  
"Where do you think you're going?" Ranma said, slowing taking steps toward her.  
Rei didn't bother walking backwards in an attempt to keep a constant distance between them. Even if she tried to keep a gap between them, Rei knew it was useless. Ranma could cover that distance in a fraction of a second and land a killing blow on her. Since it was useless to even attempt to do anything against him, she stood still and awaited for him to reach her.  
"Do you remember me?" Rei asked, already knowing the answer.  
"No," he replied.  
"We used to be one and the same," she said. "I don't care," he answered coldly.  
Rei glanced past Ranma where she caught sight of Shinji as he attempted to removed the Lance from the ground.  
The Lance didn't budge no matter how hard he tried to lift it.  
Shinji had a panicked look on his face as he realized that he was no better off trying to lift the Lance now than before. He was not going to be able to used the Lance no matter what.  
He and Rei made eye contact.  
'I'll use the Lance. Just distract Ranma.' Shinji saw Rei's eyes convey. He didn't need to hear her say the words to know what was up.  
Shinji gave up trying to lift the Lance and faced Ranma's back. At the moment, Ranma was facing Rei, his attention on her and not Shinji.  
"L-leave here alone!" Shinji stammered through all his nervousness.  
Ranma turned his attention toward Shinji. When he did, Rei slowly began to circle around Ranma.  
"I'm your opponent!" Shinji said, picking up a rock and throwing it toward Ranma with extreme force.  
To Shinji's surprise, Ranma didn't flinch as he brought a hand up and caught the rock before it struck him. He then began to flick it up and down in his hand.  
Shinji gulped, wondering what Ranma was going to do with the rock. However, before he could react, Ranma threw the rock right back at Shinji, hitting him right in the chest.  
The rock pierced right through Shinji's chest and heart, shattering his spine upon exit. Shinji fell backwards and on to the ground, a delayed reaction to Ranma's projectile. Sitting on the ground, Shinji looked down at his chest where he saw a hole in his shirt where the rock had ripped through. Looking down and in to the hole, he saw no wound, the devastating injuries sustained having miraculously healed.  
Not really knowing what had happened, Shinji had a funny feeling that he didn't manage to dodge the rock in time. Of course, the only indication of it was the hole in the front of his shirt. It wasn't as if he felt the pain that usually accompanied such a wound.  
Ranma narrowed his eyes as he noticed Shinji getting back up to his feet. He knew he had inflicted a fatal wound on that mortal so why was it possible that he was getting back up? That defied even Ranma's own sense of logic.  
Confused, Ranma stood where he was, trying to figure out what had just happened. It didn't last long thought before Ranma surmised that Shinji seemed to have the same powers as him.  
So, conventional means can't stop him, Ranma thought. Well, I guess I'll have to do with my bare hands then. Perhaps he can be hurt in the same fashion as Urd.  
Ranma glanced over his shoulder toward where Rei was and saw that she had managed get far enough away from him and was now currently making her way over to where the Lance was. Not really worried about what that girl was capable of, what with the fact that she was going to try and use a conventional weapon on him, Ranma decided it was best to focus his attention on Shinji. If Shinji had powers similar to him, then perhaps he could be a threat.  
Ranma started walking toward Shinji. If Shinji was going to be a thorn in his side, then it was best that he be dealt with first.  
Urd was unconscious so she wasn't going anywhere.  
Wait a minutes, Ranma realized. Why was he even bothering with Shinji anyway? His main objective was killing Urd. Shinji was merely an obstacle that could be avoided. Realizing this, Ranma decided to turn his attention away from Shinji and on to Urd as she lay unconscious a good distance away from him.  
"Oh shit!" Shinji gasped as he saw Ranma heading toward Urd.  
Shinji swallowed the lump in his throat as he dashed toward Ranma. He needed to stop Ranma somehow, in any way possible.  
Glancing toward the side, he saw Rei picked the Lance back up out of the ground a good distance away. If she was going to attempt using the Lance a second time, she would need to get closer to where the action was or risk missing Ranma once again.  
Shinji ran toward Ranma as Ranma walked away from him. Not really knowing what to really do, he figured it was best to attack him from behind. If this Ranma was anything like the Ranma he knew, then that meant he was extremely open to being hit from behind.  
He ran toward Ranma's back, fighting the urge to run in the opposite direction and away from him. Just as Shinji bent at the waist, keeping his head low, and was about to dive toward Ranma's back, Ranma turned around to face the young man. Without showing any signs of surprise, Ranma extended a hand and pressed down on the back of Shinji's neck. Doing so made Shinji lose his balance, his forward momentum and Ranma's hand too much for him to remain afoot.  
Shinji ended up falling down flat on his stomach right by Ranma's feet, Ranma crouching down by where he was, his hand still on Shinji's neck, pressing his face in to the ground.  
"You really think something like that would work on me?" Ranma sneered, "How asinine,"  
Ranma stood back up and waited for Shinji to get back to his feet. As Shinji tired to get back up, Ranma brought an elbow down on the back of Shinji's head, sending him in to the ground with such force that a massive crater twenty-feet in diameter was formed.  
Ranma ended up losing balance where he fell down and on top of Shinji as the crater was formed.  
When the ground stopped shaking, Ranma got back to his feet and proceeded to climb up and out of the crater. To his surprise, he didn't make it far before he was stopped as a hand closed over one of his ankles.  
Ranma turned his attention toward what was holding one of his ankles and found himself looking at a bloody Shinji.  
Shinji was hurt badly. He didn't know why, but his powers didn't seem to protect him from that blow to the back of his head. He was still feeling the effects of being hit by such a devastating elbow and it made him feel very nauseous. His vision was slightly blurred as it seemed like he was fading in and out of consciousness.  
Little did Shinji know that attacks inflicted on him by Ranma could not be brushed off like other attacks from different people. This was because Ranma's attacks had divine properties and Shinji's powers did not protect him from such attacks. In a way, it was as if Shinji's own powers were being cancelled out by Ranma's own. As to how Shinji was even able to remain conscious after being hit so hard, no one knew, not even Ranma or Shinji himself.  
Ranma reached down and grabbed Shinji by the hair, picking him up.  
Shinji screamed as he gripped at Ranma's extended hand and tired to pull himself up to alleviate the weight pulling at his hair.  
Before he knew it, Shinji found himself being slammed down face-first hard on the ground, the wind getting knocked out of him. When Ranma let go and looked down at Shinji, Shinji coughed several times, trying desperately to catch his breath. He found himself looking at the ground as he pushed himself back up on to his hands and knees.  
Looking down at the ground, Shinji could see a small puddle of blood forming from the blood falling from his mouth and nose and various gashes all around his face.  
Shinji winced in pain, completely unused to this level of pain. He had sparred against Ranma before, but had never managed to remain conscious after receiving such devastating attacks. He was usually bestowed unconsciousness long before he could suffer this badly.  
It was disgusting just how nasty this Ranma could be. Ranma was fighting with every intent to kill. This was far worse than some so-called sparring match. It was as if it was a sparring match gone terribly wrong where Ranma wanted to teach Shinji a lesson where he had no idea what it was.  
Shinji looked up slightly and saw the bottom of Ranma's legs as Ranma stood where he was looking down at his opponent. I need to continue to distract Ranma, Shinji thought. Rei is counting on me. Everyone is counting on us stopping him. With a burst of strength and renewed energy, Shinji banished the pain coursing through his body and dove toward Ranma's legs. This surprised Ranma because he had been momentarily surprised that Shinji was still able to remain conscious.  
Shinji grabbed Ranma's waist, wrapping his arms around his waist where he intertwined his fingers by the small of Ranma's back. Following through with his execution, Shinji tightened his hold over Ranma's waist, the act making Ranma involuntarily bend backwards at the waist.  
Shinji took that opportunity to lean forward, bringing his right leg forward and wrapping it around the back of one of Ranma's legs to prevent him from regaining his balance. He did all of that in one fluid motion, ending up bringing his weight down on Ranma and falling down to the ground along with him. Unfortunately for Shinji, he had not anticipated in actually managing to tackle Ranma to the ground, let alone Ranma reacting to such a technique.  
The moment Ranma's back hit the ground, he arched his back, bringing Shinji's forward momentum continuously forward where they ended up tumbling, eventually resulting in Ranma coming to rest on top of Shinji.  
Shinji's eyes widened as he suddenly realized Ranma had reversed the takedown move and was now in a very advantageous position, Ranma in a mounted position on top of him.  
Ranma smirked as he looked down at Shinji and noticed the panicked look on the young man's face. Without a moment's hesitation, Ranma punched Shinji right in the face, the impact sending Shinji's head cocking backward and hitting the ground below him. The punches rattled Shinji's brain in his skull and made him see more and more white spots with every successive punch.  
Shinji instinctively brought his hands up in an attempt to shield his face from the punches raining down on him. When he did, Ranma seized his right arm and pivoted his entire body around it, bringing one leg up and around over Shinji's face, executing an armbar.  
However, much to Ranma's and even Shinji's own surprise, Shinji's body moved under its own accord, rolling toward the side along with Ranma, somehow managing to snake his way out of the attempt armbar before it could be administered fully. Doing so resulted in Ranma's loss of hold on Shinji's arm as he rolled on the ground and back up to his feet, Shinji rolling to his feet as well.  
Ranma had an amused look on his face, hiding his surprise at just how skilled Shinji was. It looked more along the lines as if Ranma had been toying with Shinji all along.  
Where the hell is Rei, Shinji thought, breathing heavily. Shinji's legs were shaking, threatening to give out under his own bodyweight. Blood trickled freely from his mouth and nose, his lips cut up badly from his own teeth from when he was being punched. His right arm hung rather limply by his side, the slight hyperextension of his elbow before he broke out of the armbar hold causing him intense pain.  
He couldn't believe how much his arm hurt. To have is own moves used against him made things much more difficult and put things in perspective. It felt like he was fighting a astronomically more skilled version of himself. His assumption that Ranma would not use grapple move on him, what with Ranma preferring straight-up punches and kicks, was totally wrong. Ranma was so versatile that he could immediately change his fighting style to suit the situation.  
Shinji was screwed. He could not change his fighting style as easily. He had gotten used to using grapple moves over the past few months that it was hard for him to break away from it.  
Ranma dashed toward Shinji, executing a roundhouse at the young man, hitting him in the head before he could even react. The move was so fast that Shinji didn't even know what hit him until he slid to a stop part-way up the crater.  
Oh god, is this how skilled a fighter Ranma really is, Shinji thought as he slowly got back up to his feet. I can barely even see his attacks. Whenever I sparred against him, I could see him attacking me and at least try and dodge or react to it. Has he been holding back that much all this time?  
Shinji got back to his feet and staggered a few times, clutching at his ribs. It hurt to breath. A couple of his ribs were broken. The fact that he felt the pain and that his ribs didn't heal made it realize that his powers weren't going to help him anymore. Either Ranma was hitting him with such powerful blows that his own powers have trouble compensating in healing him, or Ranma's own powers were canceling out his own. It was a good chance it was the latter.  
When Shinji looked up to see where Ranma was, he saw Ranma standing right in front of him.  
"Die!" Ranma sneered.  
Ranma executed another roundhouse toward Shinji's side. Shinji, throwing caution in to the wind, noticed the position of Ranma's grounded foot and assumed that he was going to kick him and attempted to block it even before the move was executed. He raised one of his legs up, pointing his shin toward the shin of Ranma's incoming leg.  
Their shins collided with one another. Shinji was sent flying backwards where hit the incline of the crater outline and tumbled right out of it, landing a short distance away on his back.  
Shinji sat upright as he felt this burning sensation enveloping his leg and looked down at it. To his surprise, the bones of his shin wasn't broken. This was all due to the fact that Shinji was too light and the force of the impact sent him flying before the bone broken.  
Unfortunately for him, even though his bones weren't broken, it felt like they were as he rolled around in a fetal position rubbing at his shin with on hand, clutching at his ribs with the other.  
Through the tears of pain, Shinji glance toward the side where he saw Rei quickly making her way toward where he was.  
Rei rushed to his side and dropped the Lance in the process.  
"Are you okay?" she asked, concern in her voice. She couldn't help but feel like the roles had been reversed, that they were back on their own world meeting for the very first time, in the EVA bay, right before Shinji was to be sent out to fight an Angel in Unit-01 for the very first time. She had been in obvious pain when he rushed to her side after she had fallen out of her hospital bed after she was wheeled in to the EVA bay. "I-I c-can't go on..." Shinji said in a faint voice. He wanted to close his eyes and go to sleep.  
Rei gently tried to help him to his feet but he seemed unable to do so. The broken ribs was having a devastating effect on him and it took all his energy just to breath.  
"We have to stop Ranma," Rei said in a worried voice. She had no idea what kind of pain Shinji was in, but she was very sure that it was excruciating.  
Shinji forced himself to get back up to his feet. When he did and looked in the direction of the crater, he saw Ranma slowly making his way out of it and toward him.  
When he saw Ranma take a mad dash toward him, Shinji shoved Rei out of the way. A second later, Shinji was hit in the chest with hard shoulder ram, falling backwards and on to the ground a short distance away.  
Gasping for air, Shinji was unable to do anything as Ranma walked up to him and grabbed one of his ankles. Shinji gave out a yelp of surprise when Ranma picked him up by the ankle and slammed him back down on the ground, only to pick him back up and slam him back down a second time.  
Satisfied that Shinji was finally done and over with, Ranma turned his attention toward Rei as she picked the Lance up and faced him.  
Taking several steps toward Rei, Ranma was caught completely off-guard when he was hit hard from behind. This caused him to stagger several steps forward trying to regain his balance.  
Staggering forward, he looked down toward his waist where he saw Shinji's arms wrapped around him from behind. He suddenly realized Shinji was trying to tackle him to the ground.  
"You don't stay down do you?" Ranma sneered.  
Pissed off, Ranma reached down and gripped both of his hands on each of Shinji's forearms and squeezed them hard. This caused Shinji to scream in pain as he lost his grip on Ranma's waist.  
With Shinji no longer holding on to Ranma from behind, Ranma shoulder threw Shinji over his head back down to the ground. The impact caused yet another crater, the wind further knocked out of Shinji's body.  
Wanting to finish him off once and for all, Ranma straightened the fingers of his hand in to a knife-hand. Ranma sneered, slicing his hand through the air and right in to Shinji's chest, his steel-like fingers piercing right through Shinji's ribcage.  
Shinji looked up where he saw Rei standing nearby, Lance in hand.  
He smiled toward Ranma. This confused Ranma as Ranma regarded him.  
Eyes becoming unfocused as his life blood left his body through the gaping wound around Ranma's embedded hand, Shinji slowly raised his arms and gripped it around Ranma's forearm, tightening his grip, preventing Ranma from being able to pull his hand back out of Shinji's chest.  
With his last once of strength, Shinji twisted his body while still gripping Ranma's arm, the motion causing Ranma to fall to the ground where Shinji rolled over and ended up on top of him.  
"Fucking die already!" Ranma tried to jerk his arm free, using his free hand to try and shove Shinji off him, much to no avail.  
"Y-you first..." Shinji said in his dying words, giving himself to death. At that brief moment of clarity, Shinji had finally realized that the prophecy of the Lance of Longinus was going to come true, that he was going to die in tragic fashion. Everything finally made sense to him. This was for the best anyway. Eventually, he himself would become corrupted by his own powers and it was best that that not happen, that he not become the man he had to destroy.  
He shouted, "Rei, kill us both!"  
Without a moment's hesitation, the Lance plunged right through Shinji's own back, impaling him completely and exiting from his own chest where it impaled Ranma in his own chest as well.  
Ranma's eyes widened as he looked down and saw a Lance impaling his chest. His heart was pierced as the Lance exited out of his body, spine shattered in the process. Ranma looked up where he saw Shinji's cloudy but determined eyes looking down at him, the young man's own blood flowing freely from his wounds and dripping down on to Ranma.  
"I-I'd rather die by Rei's own h-hands than your own!" Shinji sneered, trying to remain alive.  
Ranma struggled to free himself, but Shinji's hands held fast to his forearms. Even when he broke all of the bones in Shinji's hand with in his free hand, Ranma realized that it was useless, that he was going to die.  
The wound had been fatal and there was no way for him to escape death. A moment of realization dawned on him. Why would he want to escape death anyway? His ultimate death was his main objective all this time. Whether it be death by Shinji's and Rei's own actions or destroying existence through the death of Urd, it served the same purpose.  
He was going to be released.  
"Good job," Ranma said, smiling slightly.  
With that said, Ranma closed his eyes and died, happy to have finally achieved death. Even though there was a chance he could be resurrected once again since Urd was still alive, it was something that was now out of his control. Lance still impaled through his chest, Shinji weakly turned his head where he saw this shocked and tearful look on Rei's chest. Seeing her made him realize that Rei had made an ultimate decision that he could not. Rei was so much better than he was and to be able to make such a decision proved it.  
"I-I'm s-sorry," was all Rei could say, her emotions tumultuous.  
"I-I d-did well, didn't I?" Shinji asked, closing his eyes.  
Rei crouched down by Shinji's lifeless body.  
"Yes, you did,"

Shinji opened his eyes.  
He was disoriented and didn't know what was going on or where he was.  
Looking around, he noticed that he was sitting in a bed located in what looked like a huge open space with a dozen columns placed in a circular fashion that were supporting a ceiling that wasn't there. The walls of the room were so far away that they couldn't be seen. All that could be seen was darkness. Little did he know that he was actually in the 'central headquarters' of Heaven.  
"Hello?" Shinji asked, looking around. When no one answered, he thought about exactly where he was and how he got there. It didn't take too long before he realized what had happened to him previously. He remembered clearly his fight against Ranma and having been killed in the process.  
"Am I in Hell?" Shinji gasped, looking around some more. Was this what hell was like, complete and utter solitude for eternity?  
"No, you're not in Hell," came a female voice.  
Shinji glanced around, wondering where the voice around. He yelped in surprised when he turned around and found himself staring at the cleavage of Urd's low-cut outfit. How she had appeared right behind him without him knowing was something Shinji didn't understand.  
"U-Urd!" Shinji said, taking a step back in surprise, "You surprised me,"  
Urd smiled warmly at Shinji, regarding him intently. This made him blush and self-conscious of himself.  
"W-what?" he asked nervously.  
Urd continued to smile, "Nothing much. It's just amazing seeing how much you've changed. Now that everything's done and over with and I'm able to get a good look at you, I can finally see just how much you've grown up since we last saw each other,"  
"Last saw each other? Be we saw each other only a few hours ago," he said.  
Urd nodded, "True, but this was the first time I got the chance to get a good look at you since all that has happened. Y'know, with Ranma and all,"  
Shinji said nothing for a moment, "Um, where are we?"  
"We're in Heaven," Urd answered.  
"H-Heaven?" Shinji said, remembering what had happened before, "D-does that mean-"  
"Yep, you're dead," Urd said.  
The color drained from Shinji's face.  
Urd couldn't help but chuckle, "Don't worry. It's not as bad as you think it is. True, you are dead, but this so-called Heaven is different from what you think it is. Think of this place as a meeting place,"  
"Um, okay," Shinji was confused.  
"I'm here to explain everything to you," she said, "With us being here, it's just the two of us so there's no interruptions. This is the same 'room' where I've talked to Ranma and Rei before when they showed up in Heaven after they caused their respective Third Impact,"  
"Oh, okay," he said, sitting down on the bed.  
"First off, you and Rei succeeding in defeating Ranma," Urd said, "I wish I had been conscious to see what you had done but from what I heard from Rei, it was a pretty vicious one-sided battle all the way until the end,"  
"Rei, where is she?" Shinji asked.  
Urd waved a dismissive hand, "She's fine. She's alive and well. She's actually here in Heaven as well, just a different section. The entire world was put on hold while I talk to you and explain everything,"  
"What about?"  
"Like what's going to happen now," she answered, "The world that you know it no longer exists. I'm going to recreate it from scratch,"  
Shinji said nothing, listening intently.  
"The reason behind this meeting is to get things cleared up with you and ask you for your decision," she continued on, "The world that you left behind, it was seriously messed up. Nothing's good gonna come from it. Too many lives were killed needlessly and I'm going to right that by recreating it from scratch. I want to ask you for your input on from where you want it recreated,"  
"What do you mean?"  
Urd smirked, "All the people that were killed, they're going to be resurrected. That means you're going to be able to see all your friends once again. You'd like that, right?"  
Shinji couldn't help but feel a great sense of happiness envelop him, "Yes, I'd really like that,"  
"The world is going to be recreated from the moment when you left for Emiko's world to get her back," Urd said, "That way, no one will remembered what really happened. None of your friends will know about them having been killed, and that world won't know of all the horrible stuff that has happened to it, like the destruction of Unit-01 killing billions,"  
"That sounds like a good idea," he said, "But if you recreate that world, doesn't that mean everything will repeat all over again?"  
Urd shook her head, "Yes, it will if I recreated it exactly. But for this one, there are going to be a few changes,"  
"What changes?"  
"I plan on recreating the world from that point in time, but I'm gonna have all your friends remember what had happened," she answered, "That way it'll help make the blow to them less of an impact,"  
"What do you mean?" he asked.  
"Ranma requested that he not be resurrected," she said, "Ranma no longer wants to take part in living on that world and wishes to stay here in Heaven,"  
"What?" Shinji's eyes widened. He truly believe that after all of that, after all that had happened, everything would be returned back to normal. He had no animosity toward Ranma for what had happened. He knew Ranma had been a different person. "Ranma's not coming back," Urd said, "After I'm done talking to you, I'm going to be going over and talking to your friends. Basically, the world will be recreated with only you and your friends knowing of what really happened,"  
"But-" he began.  
Urd sighed, "Perhaps it's better that Ranma be here to explain it. I hate being the middle-man, I mean the middle-person,"  
A portal suddenly appeared which surprised Shinji, causing him to shield his eyes. When the light disappeared, Ranma was standing where the portal used to be.  
"Yo," Ranma said.  
Shinji said nothing, not really knowing what to do. "Don't worry," Ranma said, "I'm not the person you fought before. I'm the Ranma from before all of this crap happened to you,"  
Shinji remained silent. Suddenly, tears started to flow down his cheeks.  
"Hey, you okay?" Ranma asked, concerned.  
"I-I'm fine," Shinji said. He was actually shedding tears of happiness. Even though Ranma looked like the same Ranma that tried killing him just a short while ago, he knew, without a shadow of a doubt, that this was the Ranma that he knew. It was his good friend, Ranma Saotome.  
"How come you don't want to come back home?" Shinji asked.  
"Because, my job is done," Ranma said, "I've accomplished what I was originally meant to do and have decided to call it quits once and for all,"  
"W-what do you mean?" Shinji asked, "What do you mean by your job is done?"  
"First off, I'm really sorry for all that has happened," Ranma began, "You shouldn't hafta go through what you had to go through,"  
"I-I don't think anyone should hafta go through what I went through," Shinji said.  
Ranma smirked, "I guess we're even,"  
Shinji gave a confused look, "What do you mean?"  
"Remember a while ago I mentioned that I know what would've happened to you had I not showed up on your world?" Ranma began.  
Shinji nodded, "Yeah, you said that something really really bad would've happened. But you never told me what,"  
"Well, I think it's about time you find out," Ranma said.  
Urd stepped forward, "Ranma, no! Don't!"  
"Sorry, but I'm not going to go on pretending," Ranma said, "It's about time Shinji knows the truth about everything,"  
"W-what truth?" he asked, "What the heck are you all talking about,"  
"I'm sure over the course of this so-called adventure, you figured out that, for some odd reason, everyone I seem to come in contact with's fate seems to get disrupted when our paths cross,"  
Shinji nodded, "Yeah. I have noticed that. But that's because you seemed to have escaped fate, and in you doing so, that's some kinda contingency that was never supposed to occur,"  
Ranma nodded, "That's right. However, there's a much deeper underlying factor to it that you don't know. It all centers around what happened to you,"  
"I don't understand," Shinji said.  
"There are basically two versions of you," Ranma said, "There's you, and then there's the you that lived had I not showed up on your world like I did,"  
"I still don't understand,"  
"Shinji, had I never shown up, your world would've been destroyed," Ranma said, "Everyone would've been wiped out. The only survivor would've been you and Asuka and Rei and your mother,"  
"What?" Shinji said, "M-my mother?"  
"I'll explain," Ranma said, "Had I not showed up, your world would've gone to Hell in a hand-basket. Seele would've actually succeeded in causing the so-  
called Constructive Third Impact. The problem is that Seele never anticipated that Third Impact is ultimately destructive no matter what. Unlike our home world where Third Impact had occurred, your world was never recreated and remained destroyed,"  
Shinji said nothing.  
"That's the thing about Third Impact that no one knows about," Ranma said, "It ultimately destroys the world where it occurs. What needs to be done afterwards is that it needs to be recreated afterwards. Unfortunately, on your world, it was never recreated and only you and Rei and Asuka and your mother survived. You were the only people left alive on the entire planet. Everyone else died when they were turned to LCL liquid,"  
"How does my mother fit in to this? She's dead," Shinji said.  
"You and Asuka survive," Ranma said, "But the thing is is that Asuka actually possessed three souls, your mom's, Rei's, and Asuka's. In a sense, you and Asuka, that is, Asuka possessing two separate souls, were the only two people left on the entire planet,"  
Shinji was silent, totally speechless.  
"Neither of the two of you survived long after that, what with the fact that there was nothing to keep you living since the world was utterly destroyed," he said, "Picture it as nothing more than a tiny island with nothing on it and a sea of LCL surrounding that island. Asuka died first and you died soon afterwards,"  
"We starved to death?" Shinji asked.  
"Not quite," he said, "You two basically gave up living completely so in a sense, you let your body die. Once your mind goes, your body soon followed. The thing is is that right before you died, you made a dying wish to God and it was answered,"  
"I did?" he asked.  
Urd stepped forward, her head hung low, "Yes, you did. I was the one that relayed your dying wish to God before you died,"  
"What was my wish?" he asked.  
"That no one ever have to suffer such a fate as yourself," she answered, "You didn't want an alternate version of yourself to suffer like he did and that wish actually came true. In actuality, no one has ever suffered such a fate as your other self had,"  
Shinji asked, "My dying wish was to have Third Impact prevented so alternate versions of myself never suffer such a fate?"  
"Much like the way Asuka would go back and prevent Second Impact on an alternate version of her world, Ranma did the same for his own world, preventing the 'Nerima Massacre'," Urd said, "This is why you made such a wish, because you never want yourself to ever suffer what you went through. This wish caused a chain reaction,"  
"What kinda chain reaction?" Shinji asked, "I still don't understand,"  
"After I relayed your wish to God, he set everything in motion," Urd said.  
"God killed my friends and family," Ranma said, showing no signs of animosity toward a past that had passed by decades ago, "He set in motion my inevitable path to end up on your world,"  
"What?"  
Ranma gave a slight chuckle, "God works in mysterious ways. He made me go through what I went through so that I will eventually discover the one item that would mysteriously send me to your world. During a trip to China to cure me of my curse, I discovered a box that should never have existed on that world. That box sent me to your world. Guess who placed that box there?"  
"God?" Shinji asked.  
Ranma nodded, "Yep. Now that I think about it, it kinda makes sense. Exactly where that box came from and how it sent me to your world was something that could never be explained away. Now we know why, because it was God's will that I find it and get sent to your world,"  
"B-but-"  
"Why did He go and kill my friends and family?" Ranma asked, "Because, once again, God works in mysterious ways. It seems like in him doing so made me become what I am, where I would be of use when I did go to your world. Had I been sent to your world before I trained for all those decades in China on a training trip, I would've been of no help. I would've been killed shortly after I got there, most likely killed when I was caught up in the blast when the Angel self-destructed,"  
"Oh man," Shinji gasped.  
"In a way, your wish killed my friends and family so that I would end up showing up in your world and playing my given role, that being the prevention of Third Impact," Ranma said, "Don't worry, I don't have a grudge or nothing. I'm no longer bothered about what had happened to me. I'm content with the knowledge that I was of great use because of the death of my family. Heck, if you think about it, I saved your world,"  
Ranma chuckled. Of course, he did so because it helped hide the hurt that still existed within in. He would always have a pain in his heart for the loss of his friends and family in the 'Nerima Massacre'.  
"I was basically a tragic tool sent to save your world," Ranma shrugged, "Of course, I never knew that and neither did anyone else. Only God knew. Heh, that kinda puts the saying 'God knows...' in perspective since it's actually very true.  
"So what happened after that?" Shinji asked.  
"Well, I continued on with my life," Ranma said, "After my so-called adventure on your world, I brought you and everyone back to my world. Whatever I did after that, didn't really matter since I had did what I was supposed to do. I was free to continue on with my life. I found out about my 'role' in everything the night when I died in the hospital, after Asuka and I came back home after we prevented Second Impact,"  
Urd said, "Yes. I told him everything,"  
"I-is that why your original self chose to die that night?" Shinji asked, eyes wide.  
Ranma nodded, "Yeah. He was pissed off when he found out he was a tool but eventually learned to accept it. After he accepted what he was, he decided it was best to die so he can be with my friends and family that had died during the 'Nerima Massacre'. Keep in mind that that was my original self. He's dead and remains dead. I, on the other hand, was recreated from him so I'm not really the real Ranma,"  
"You are to me and everyone else," Shinji commented.  
"I may seem like it, but I'm not," Ranma said, "I'm not the original Ranma. No matter what kinda a person I am, I'm never going to be the original one. The original will always be considered the first and the best. Me, I'm just some alternate version of an alternate version of an alternate version of the original. I'm actually three degrees of separation from the original,"  
"What do you mean?"  
"There was the original that died that night in the hospital," Ranma began counting on his fingers, "There was the one that was born from Unit-01 that died fighting the Angels. There was the one that was mysteriously resurrected but in Lina's and Luna's and Emiko's world. He disappeared when he caused Third Impact on the world where the previous Ranma had been born. There was the Ranma that emerged from the one where Ranma and Rei merged as one person. And last but not least, there's me, recreated once again after the death of that Ranma,"  
"It doesn't matter, you're still the same," Shinji said.  
"The original Ranma died a human death because he was human," Ranma said, "I'm not even human anymore. I'm some bastardized version of the human Ranma, the Angel Ranma, and God Ranma. I happen to possess the same memories and personality as the original, but I'm not him,"  
"It doesn't matter,"  
"Well it does to me," Ranma said, "That's why I've decided I'm not coming back,"  
"No, don't say that," Shinji said.  
"Sorry," he said, "I'm not going to assume the role of the original Ranma. I've accomplished my goal of saving you and your world and have decided that it was best that I no longer remain alive on your world anymore,"  
"Why do you hafta think like that?" Shinji said, "Why not just continue on living?"  
Ranma smirked, "Cause I did try and this is what it got me. Keep in mind that I wasn't aware of my role after I got back from the world where I was born from Unit-01. That's why I was so upset when I found out my original self died. Had I known he chose that after I found out about his role, I wouldn't feel all that upset. When I died fighting those Angels, I was prepared to remain dead, forever. But what happens? I get brought back by Rei after she becomes God. Once again, I'm running around alive and well. This time, I hafta go out and becoming God myself to get to Rei so I could rescue her. When I was God, I found out about who I am and why the 'Nerima Massacre' happened. After I came back, I decided that I would try and live my life since the original Ranma had accomplished his goal and I want not that same Ranma. What happens? This happens and you are forced to do whatever you could do to kill my corrupted self, all because I decided to continue on living instead of remaining dead. Now that I have the choice again, I'm choosing to remain dead,"  
"But-" Shinji began.  
"I'm sorry, but that's my decision," he said, "You and everyone else don't need me around anymore. You'll all do fine without me,"  
"But-" Shinji tried to say.  
"Before we part, I'd like you to do me a favor," Ranma said.  
"What?"  
"I want you to carry my memories with me back to our world while I stay," Ranma said.  
"Your memories?" Shinji's eyes widened.  
Ranma nodded, "Yeah. Everyone's gonna be asking you a barrage of questions about what's happened to me so it's better that you know what I experienced what I experience to realize why I'm making the decision I'm making. That way, you'll be able to answer on my behalf without having to second guess or assume why I made that decision,"  
Shinji was silent.  
"Will you do me this favor?" Ranma asked, "I feel a bit bad that no one will every really know everything that I've been through. For instance, you only know about me after you met me. You don't know anything about my past or where I came from. At least this way, at least there's some kinda legacy of me being left behind,"  
Shinji was silent for several moment.  
"Don't worry, my memories won't affect you or nothing," Ranma said, "You'll remember it like you were there but you'll know that it wasn't you that did it. That way, it won't make you think you've done things you haven't done. Will you do me this favor?"  
"Fine," Shinji said after a long pause, "I'll do it,"  
Ranma took a step toward and touched Shinji's forehead with his hand.  
Shinji's eyes widened as all of Ranma's memories were transferred to his. A few minutes elapsed as Shinji stood very still, trying to comprehend the images and memories that had flooded his mind.  
"You okay?" Ranma asked.  
"Man, you shouldn'tve done that," Urd scolded Ranma.  
"Bah, if it fucks him up, we can undo it," Ranma grinned, "That's one of the benefits about having powers of God,"  
"You do know I'm gonna remove those powers after everything is done and over with, right?" Urd said, "There's no need to have two Gods,"  
Ranma shrugged, "Go right ahead and remove all my powers. It's not like I need them after all of this is done and over with,"  
"I guess you have a point," Urd nodded.  
Ranma turned toward Shinji, "Shinji, are you all right? Say something?"  
"Yeah," Shinji said, "I think so,"  
"Good," Ranma said, "So, now that you share the same memories as myself, now you know why I'm staying?"  
Shinji was silent for several moments. If he said no, then he would be lying and Ranma would know right away. In reality, now that he knew exactly what kind of life Ranma had, he could confidently agree that he himself would choose the same path as Ranma.  
An image of Ranma's past, when he was cursed, flashed through Shinji's mind.  
Shinji smirked, deep in thought, "Wow, so that's what you looked like when you were in your cursed form. I knew about how you turned in to a girl, but I never suspected it would be someone so cute,"  
Ranma narrowed his eyes toward Shinji, "Ha ha,"  
"Are you sure it has to be this way?" Shinji became very serious, "Are you sure you won't reconsider coming back?"  
Ranma nodded, "I'm sure. I'm staying right here,"  
"What will you do?" Shinji asked, looking about, "It doesn't look like you can do much around here,"  
Ranma said, "What you see isn't Heaven. It's just an interpretation of it that you are currently seeing. Heaven is more of a state of mind than a place. Anyway, I'll chill up here in Heaven with Urd. Isn't that right?"  
He placed an arm around Urd's shoulder and grinned toward her.  
"Whatever you say," Urd said, blushing slightly and twitching a bit. She didn't really like Ranma acting all familiar toward her. She was still pissed at him for attacking her before like that, even if it really wasn't him. Maybe over time, she could grow to get used to him. He definitely added an element of spontaneity that she probably wouldn't mind having around.  
"Um," Shinji tried to think of something. Everything was moving so fast.  
"Yeah?"  
"What's going to happen to Asuka, Misato, and Ritsuko?" he asked, "The ones that I brought from the other world,"  
Urd said, "They'll remember everything. Shortly after you get back home, they will show back up in your life. As to what happens after that, it's up to you,"  
"Oh. Okay," Shinji said, trying to think of more questions. He didn't want to part company just yet. He asked, "What I don't understand is why you would choose to stay dead when you've yet to have children,"  
Ranma said, "C'mon, you know why,"  
"Because the only version of you that could have children died in the hospital," Shinji answered his own question.  
Ranma nodded, "Yep. That's why I chose to adopt you, Rei, and Asuka as my own children,"  
"How come you never told us that? That on paper, you adopted us without us knowing?" Shinji asked.  
Ranma shrugged, "No reason. I wanted it to be considered more along the lines as your benefactor, but adopting you guys would have more benefits in the future, since that would make you guys legal heirs to the Anything Goes School of Martial Arts. Whether or not you guys decide to take it over is entirely up to you guys,"  
Shinji was silent. He already knew that. He knew everything about Ranma now. All the mysteries surrounding him had been explained away in the memories transferred to him. Even mysteries like who he loved or why he never truly settled down had been answered in those memories.  
"I never would've thought you were in love with-" Shinji began.  
Ranma interrupted Shinji, "Just because you know all the answers doesn't mean you should go telling everyone everything about me. Telling her that I fell in love with her shortly after I met her would only make her very sad because I know full well that she is in love with me,"  
"So why dontcha go back and spend the rest of your life with her?" he asked.  
"You already know why," Ranma said, sighing, "You already know all the answers to the questions you wanna ask me so there is no need to ask any anymore,"  
"Still," Shinji said.  
Ranma smirked, "When the girls back home start barraging you with personal questions about me, don't give away too much. It's best to leave some behind some unanswered questions to me,"  
"I understand," Shinji said.  
Ranma smiled warmly, "Well, I guess now that we've got everything cleared, it's best you be sent on your way,"  
Shinji tried to think of more things to say.  
"Well, this is where we say goodbye," Ranma said.  
He stepped forward and gave Shinji a warm hug, much like the way a father hugged a son. That was one of the most shocking revelations about receiving Ranma's memories, that all this time, Ranma viewed Shinji and Asuka and Rei as his children. All this time, he had thought Ranma viewed them as friends that needed looking over until they were out of the house.  
When they both broke their embrace, they glanced over toward Urd where they saw tears trickling from her eyes.  
Urd, realizing that she was being watched, quickly wiped at her eyes, "Something got in my eye,"  
Ranma smirked, "Yeah, they're called tears,"  
Urd said nothing. It was such an emotional moment that she had trouble steeling her emotions. "Shinji, you did real well," Urd walked up to Shinji and gave him a hug, "You have my deepest gratitude. I'm forever in your debt and I'll be sure to watch over you and make sure nothing bad happens to you or your friends,"  
"Thanks," Shinji said, returning the embrace, "I'll keep that in mind,"  
Ranma grinned, "Man, aintcha lucky? You've got God on your side, literally. Can't get any better than that, except, say, being God that is,"  
"Well, Shinji," Ranma said, "Do you have any last words to say before we part?"  
Shinji was at a loss of words, unable to form the questions and words he wanted to say. There were a million things he wanted to say to him, to ask him. Unfortunately, he couldn't form the words.  
"Will I ever see you guys again?" Shinji was able to ask after a long pause.  
"No," Ranma said.  
Shinji was silent, still unable to form the words.  
"Well, I guess it's best we part. I wish you a happy life," Ranma said, "I'll miss you and everyone else. It's been nice knowing you,"  
"T-take care, Ranma," was all that Shinji could say.  
Without that said, a bright flash of light appeared around Shinji and enveloped him. A second later, the light disappeared, Shinji along with it.  
Ranma had a sad look on his face as he turned toward Urd.  
"You do know it's still not too late to go back home," Urd said, "I can send you back home just as easily as everyone else,"  
Ranma shook his head, "No thanks. I trained Shinji well. Let him continue on my legacy,"  
"You knew this was going to happen, huh?" Urd asked.  
Ranma nodded, "Yeah. A long time ago. So long as you recreate the world exactly like it was before, minus what happened that is,"  
Urd nodded, "I can do that. No problem. You've caused enough havoc on worlds that I can do that with my eyes closed, what with my always having to fix your mess,"  
Ranma chuckled, "Good. Then I have nothing to worry about,"  
"Whatcha mean?" Urd asked.  
"I wrote a letter a few years ago, during the time when my world was being attacked by Angels," Ranma said, "It's addressed to Shinji. He will receive it not too long from now,"  
"What's that letter say?" she asked.  
"It's a secret," Ranma smiled.  
"I'm God! You don't keep secrets from God!" Urd said, not liking having secrets kept from her. Besides, being female made her love hearing secrets.  
Ranma smiled.  
"Just watch over Shinji and you'll soon find out,"

new stuff 1/11

"Ah, Shinji, Emiko. You two are finally back. I was about to stop by your place to check up on the two of you," Ippo said almost immediately after Emiko and Shinji entered Makunouchi Gym.  
To Ippo, it seemed as if Emiko and Shinji had been sick for the past week, neither of them having showed up at the gym since the last time he saw them. To Shinji, it was much longer, what with the fact that he spent quite a bit of time on two different worlds as well as his rest after having come back to this newly recreated world.  
Mentally exhausted from all that had happened to him, Shinji basically did nothing for a week, wanting time off to do nothing but let the though of all that had happened settle in.  
"Um, we both got sick," Shinji said, feeling bad about lying to Ippo while simultaneously glad to see him. Although to Shinji, it had been only around two weeks since he had last seen him, it felt much longer than that. Perhaps the week worth of forced growth made time have a different effect on him.  
"Well, I hope you two are okay," Ippo said, concern in his voice.  
"W-we're fine," Emiko said.  
"Well, I'm glad you two are fine," he said, "If you two are just getting over being sick, feel free to take more time off,"  
Shinji shook his head, "No. We're fine,"  
"All right, if you say so," Ippo said, "I hope it doesn't effect your debut match against Kenjo Manichi,"  
"Huh? Shinji asked.  
"Kenjo Manichi, your opponent," Ippo said, "What, have you forgotten? He's your opponent for your debut match. He replaces Ichiro Miyata as your debut opponent because Miyata broke his hand in a sparring match against you, remember?" Shinji said, "Oh yeah, I remember. It's what, around two weeks from now, right?"  
Ippo nodded, "I hope you'll be well enough to fight then,"  
Shinji gave a meek smile, "Um, is there any way you can cancel it?"  
"C-cancel it?" Ippo was surprised, "Whatever for?"  
Shinji sighed, "I feel really bad right now. I really don't think I'll be ready in time for the fight,"  
"Are you sure?" Ippo said, "I can cancel it, but that means it'll be a while before you'll have another go at a debut match,"  
Shinji nodded, "I'm sure. I'm just not ready,"  
"Why do you say that? You did real well during your pro test," Ippo commented, "If you fight hafta as well as you did for your pro test, you'll easily win,"  
"It's not that," Shinji said, "It's just that, mentally, I know I'm not ready,"  
Ippo was silent for a good minute before he resigned himself, "All right. I'll go and cancel the fight. I guess you know yourself better than anyone else,"  
"Thanks, I really really appreciate it," Shinji said sincerely.  
Ippo walked off to make the necessary calls to cancel the debut fight.  
"Man, I completely forgot about it, my debut match," Shinji said, turning toward Emiko.  
"I think it's good that you canceled it," Emiko asked, "Considering what you've been through, I doubt I'd be good to go if were to have a debut match around two weeks from now,"  
"Man, it's only been a week since Urd brought us back," Emiko commented, "But it feels like it's been so much longer,"  
"That's because Ranma's no longer here," Shinji stated, "He usually livens things up around the house and makes time seemingly fly. Since he's no longer there, we don't have him around usually occupying our time,"  
"What about with you and school?" Emiko asked, "Maybe you should start going back to school. It's been a week since we came back. I'm sure your classes are teaching subjects that are all totally new to you,"  
She didn't bother to mention her concern that Shinji had yet to see Sumi.  
Shinji shrugged, "I know I haven't been to school since we got back, but frankly, I don't feel like going to school anymore,"  
"Why not?" she asked, "And education is important,"  
Shinji stopped his stretching and lay on his back, looking up toward the ceiling, "I really dunno why. I think it's because all that I've been through put everything in perspective. It makes me wonder if I'm seeing things much like the way Ranma sees things. If everything is striped away down to the core, the only thing that is really important is my friends. Everything else takes a back seat,"  
"So what are you going to drop out of school?" she asked, very surprised to be asking this.  
Shinji nodded, "I think so. Before all of this happened, I wasn't all that sure what I was going to do in my life. Now, I know what I want to do. I want to be a martial artist, just like Ranma,"  
"But that still doesn't explain the need to drop out of school," Emiko said.  
"It's hard to explain," he stated, "I feel perfectly content spending the rest of my life teaching martial arts. If I'm gonna do that, there's no real need to go to school and graduate with a degree in Engineering. Heck, to put things in real perspective, none of the stuff I learned in school was of any help when I was trying to problem-solve all those obstacles being thrown in my face when I was on the other world. I doubt they ever will,"  
"But you never know," Emiko said.  
"You're right, I'll never know," Shinji said, "However, if you think about, what if I didn't attend college? All that time wasted in a classroom I could've spent training. For all I know, I could've resolved all that had occurred much quicker had I spent more time training instead of studying,"  
Emiko was silent. There was no way to argue against that.  
"Do you think you'll be happy dropping out?" she asked.  
Shinji nodded after a moment, "Yes. I think I'm not cut out for school. Ranma saw something in me that I never saw, that being knack for martial arts. Ranma never complained about my wasting time going to school when he really wanted me around training. The only difference was that he didn't want to become his father, forcing me in to martial arts when he didn't really know if that's what I truly wanted. Well, now I know. I want to be a martial artist just like him so school doesn't matter to me, just like the way it didn't matter to him,"  
"You're your own person," Emiko said, "You don't hafta follow in Ranma's footsteps,"  
"Is that so wrong, to stride to become a martial artist like Ranma?" he asked, "The fact that he did what he did and readily accepted his role in my life at the expense of his friends and family makes me admire him even more,"  
"Man, I can't believe it," Emiko said, "I feel so sorry for Ranma. All that he had been through, what with the 'Nerima Massacre' and the loss of his friends and family, it was all to draw him to your aide because of your alternate self's dying wish. That's just incredible,"  
Shinji gave a sad smile, "I know. What's really funny is that I know what Ranma used to be, before the 'Nerima Massacre', and he was nothing like the Ranma you knew. It changed him forever,"  
"It seems like you and Ranma are now much alike, what with the fact that you went through what he went through," Emiko stated, "The only difference was that we were brought back, thanks to Urd, while Ranma had no one to bring his friends and family back,"  
"Actually, Ranma could've brought them all back," Shinji said, still surprised that he knew everything there was about him, "Before he died in the hospital, he thought about making his dying request be the resurrection of his friends and family. However, that had been so long ago that he had said goodbye to his past and moved on. That's what I'm gonna try and do, move on,"  
"You've very strong, Shinji," Emiko said admirably, "I don't know how you did it and managed to come through this all right, but it seems like you did. You're very strong to be able to get through all that had happened,"  
Shinji chuckled, "That's what you think. I really wish I can go back to my old self. Sure, I was awkward and na ve and such, but I was also sheltered and happy living in my own world. Now that all this occurred, I feel like I'm no longer young,"  
"Well, you're not all that young," Emiko said, "You are nineteen, afterall. You're not necessarily a young kid anymore,"  
Shinji shook his head, "Not quite like that age wise. Mentally, I feel like some old geezer that's seen more in his life than anyone thought possible,"  
"You're sad because of your loss of innocence," Emiko said, "You were exposed to a world and situation you never thought possible and it made you grow up much faster than you were supposed to had you not been exposed,"  
Shinji sighed, "I guess you're right. It's just that I feel all weird about myself. I used to possess the powers of God and fought along side two Gods against God. Now, I'm some weird version of what I was before all of this happened except I now possess Ranma's memories,"  
Emiko was silent.  
"I really wonder when I stopped being Shinji," Shinji said, rubbing at his eyes where tears were starting to form.  
"Don't say that," Emiko said, "You're still Shinji,"  
Shinji chuckled again, "Since I know Ranma so well, and he knew himself so well, I know exactly when Ranma stopped being Ranma,"  
"W-when was that?"  
"He stopped being Ranma the day he lost his friends and family and swore revenge," Shinji said, "The real Ranma, I mean the one that he was supposed to become had the 'Nerima Massacre' not occurred, would never have swore revenge on anyone. He would swear payback, but not revenge, not the kinda sheer hatred he felt that day. That's when he stopped being Ranma he was originally supposed to be,"  
Emiko was silent.  
"I wonder if I'll ever have one of those revelations, where I realize when I stopped being Shinji," Shinji said. After a moment, he laughed, "Actually, I think I already know. I stopped being Shinji when I killed my own father. I'm sure the real me would never have been able to do that,"  
Emiko remained silent.  
Shinji sighed, "Well, I guess it can't be helped. No one's perfect, least of all, myself. We're all messed up in some way or another, some more than others,"  
"I think we should change the subject," Emiko said, "We've been dwelling over all that has happened for over a week. We should try and continue on,"  
Shinji said, "I guess you're right. Only a select few people know about what really happened. Life goes on so I guess we should do the same,"  
"Actually, aren't you the only person that knows what really happened?" Emiko said, "Heck, even Urd and Ranma doesn't know of what you've been through on that other world. In a sense, you probably know the most about all that has happened than anyone else,"  
"I guess. However, knowing that doesn't really matter much to me," he said.  
"So how come you don't tell any of us about what really happened to you?" Emiko asked, "It's obvious that something bad happened on that other version of your world. So how come you won't tell any of us?"  
Shinji shrugged, "It's much the way Ranma, Ryoga, and Akane visited several worlds before they came back to MegaTokyo after supposedly disappearing for ten years, there's no real need to tell,"  
"T-they've been to other worlds?" Emiko's eyes widened.  
Shinji nodded, "Yeah. They actually had several adventures during the time when they went to China looking for a cure for Ranma's curse,"  
"Wow, I never knew that," Emiko said, "I heard from Sylia that Ranma, Ryoga, and Akane disappeared for ten years before showing back up in MegaTokyo, but I always thought that Jusenkyo place they were looking for was really obscure and it took that long to find it,"  
"That's what I thought, but it doesn't seem to be the case," Shinji said, "As to why they never told us about it, it seems unimportant, like there is no need for us to know. It pretty much explains why Ranma never told us about what happened on the other world when he when there to cause Third Impact and become God,"  
"Man, Ranma's really mysterious, isn't he?" Emiko asked, "How come he doesn't talk about himself that much?"  
Shinji smirked, tapping his head, "Actually, it's not all that secretive to me since I know it and see everything as if I had experienced it myself. As to why he doesn't tell everyone about his adventures, it seems like he doesn't care who or who doesn't acknowledge what his accomplishments are. Knowing what he had done seems to be good enough for him,"  
"Oh," Emiko said.  
Shinji got up to his feet. Without showing any sign of nervousness, he extended his hand for Emiko to take to help her up. She took it and got to her feet.  
"C'mon, let's go do some road work," Shinji gave a slight smile, "Maybe doing the familiar routine will help us forget about all that has happened,"  
"Okay,"

Oki was sparring when Shinji and Emiko got back from their jogging.  
Neither of them were tired, their bodies seemingly in the exact same condition as before.  
As Emiko went off to do some jump-rope, Shinji approached the ring.  
"Hey," Shinji gave a slight smile to his friend Oki.  
"Hey," Oki asked, "You feeling better?"  
Oki felt a bit awkward being around Shinji. He didn't know how to react.  
A week ago, he had showed up at the house to receive his private training lessons from Ranma. However, when he did show up, Shinji had answered the door.  
"Hey, Shinji," Oki had smiled. He didn't know something was wrong since only a day had passed since he had last seen Ranma.  
"Hey, Oki," Shinji said, regarding Oki intently which seemed to make him a bit nervous, "It's good to see you again. It's been a while,"  
"Whatcha talking about? We saw each other the other day," Oki had answered.  
"Um, yeah, right," Shinji feigned forgetfulness, "Um, so, what bring you around?"  
"I came here to see Ranma," Oki answered, "You know the deal. He's training me privately around this time. Anyway, I didn't see you or Emiko at the gym today," Oki asked, "Did something happen? You two sick?"  
Shinji nodded, "Um, yeah. We're both sick. Um, unfortunately, Ranma isn't around,"  
In a sense, they were sick, at least mentally. Much like a body infected with a virus, they needed time to heal and absorb all that had happened.  
"Whatcha two sick with? It isn't contagious I hope," Oki commented.  
Shinji chuckled. It was a hearty laugh. He had been moping around the house like everyone else for most of the day before Oki showed up. He helped brighten Shinji's day.  
"Naw, it's not contagious," Shinji said.  
"Well, hopefully, you'll get better soon. Anyway, where's Ranma? You said he isn't around?" Oki asked curiously.  
"No, um, he won't be around anymore," Shinji said in a sad sad voice.  
"Why, what happened?" Oki asked.  
"To make a long story short, he died," Shinji answered.  
Shinji had gone on to explain the details leading up to Ranma's death. He actually told the truth about all that had happened, about Ranma having gotten corrupt and Shinji and Rei having to kill him and him staying in Heaven instead of being resurrected like everyone else. Since Oki was his good friend, there was no need to hide the truth.  
"You're joking, right?" Oki asked after hearing everything.  
Shinji shook his head, "No. This is too crazy to not be true,"  
That had been about a week ago. They hadn't seen each other since then.  
Oki didn't know what to think as he watched Shinji enter the ring now. How could he believe what Shinji said? It was absolutely ridiculous, all the nonsense he was saying.  
"How're you feeling?" Oki asked.  
"Better," Shinji said.  
"Man, I can't believe it, Ranma's really gone for good, huh?" Oki asked, "He's never coming back, huh?"  
Shinji stopped to stare at Oki.  
"Y-you believe want I said?" Shinji was surprised. All that he had told him last week about what really happened made him sound like some kind of lunatic.  
"Yeah, I believe you," Oki said, "But I still have trouble accepting it,"  
Shinji shrugged, "Well, I guess it can't be helped. Even I have problems accepting it myself,"  
There was a moment of awkward silence.  
"I'm glad you believe me," Shinji said after a moment, "C'mon, let's spar. Hopefully, it'll clear my mind of all the crap that's been bothering me,"  
"Okay,"

Shinji had a very concerned look on his face as he knelt down by the unconscious Oki.  
"Hey, you okay?" Shinji asked, tapping Shinji on the face.  
After a moment, Oki opened his eyes, disoriented, not really knowing what had happened.  
"W-where am I?" Oki asked, finding himself looking up at the ceiling of Makunouchi Gym.  
Shinji smirked as he sat down next to his friend, "You're in the middle of the gym. You were knocked out,"  
"K-knocked out? When the heck didja hit me?" Oki sat upright, rubbing his head.  
"Sorry," Shinji gave a meek smile, "I didn't realize how much better I've gotten since the last time we fought,"  
Oki sat upright and rubbed at his head, "Well, considering you spent a week fighting highly trained special operatives and the army on that other world like you mentioned before, I guess it's understandable that you would get a tad bit more powerful from doing something like that,"  
"I'm sorry," he said, "I guess I didn't know my own strength,"  
"Speaking of which," Oki said, "Just how powerful have you gotten?"  
Shinji shrugged, "I really dunno. However, I know I don't possess the powers I used to have. I don't have God-powers anymore,"  
"I guess that's understandable," Oki said, "That way, there's no chance you'll become what Ranma became,"  
"That's true," Shinji nodded, "That's definitely true. Of course, I kinda feel disappointed,"  
Oki laughed, "Ya think? It must've been nice having God-powers while it lasted. But then again, if you didn't really know how to use them, I guess it wasn't that much of a help,"  
"I knew how to use some of them, but not all," Shinji said, "Of course, now that I don't have those anymore, there's no need to really dwell over that fact,"  
"I was thinking," Oki said, "You said that you couldn't lift that Lance Ranma made, right? Do you know why you couldn't when Rei could? What, are you that weak?"  
Shinji laughed. Oki was a great friend. It was nice to have a friend that treated him much the same as before. It helped make him feel normal. I helped make him remember where he came from and what he used to be.  
"Yeah, I know why," Shinji said, "It turns out that I couldn't lift it because I had never really truly accepted the fact that I had become what I became. I always believed I had God-powers, but I never thought much more than that. It never crossed my mind that I had God-powers because I was basically a walking God. I always thought of myself as a person that had powers of God, not a God with accompanying powers. That was the difference,"  
"That's kinda stupid," Oki said.  
Shinji shrugged, "I know. The reason why I couldn't lift the Lance much like other things was that the Lance had special divine properties. That's why I couldn't lift it,"  
"If that was the case, then how come Ryoga was able to lift it?" Oki asked, "Didn't you say Ryoga was able to lift the Lance?"  
"That's because it's seriously heavy," Shinji said, "It can be lifted, but even if Ryoga could lift it, he wouldn't be able to wield it. My powers could only help me lift up to a certain weight. I remember having trouble lifting this massive slab of rock which was around as heavy as the Lance. I need to be able to lift the Lance as well as wield it. I could do neither. All Ryoga could do was lift it,"  
"So are you saying that Ryoga's stronger than you with your God-powers?" Oki started laughing, "That's really funny,"  
"It seems funny now, but it wasn't all that funny back then," Shinji said, "The fact that I couldn't lift the Lance was extremely frustrating which made me hafta do what I did,"  
"Well, I'm glad everything turned out okay," Oki commented, "That's what matters,"  
"You're right," Shinji agreed.  
"Just curious, if you became God, I hope you don't expect me to be praying to you or anything. That's just plain weird," Oki commented.  
Shinji laughed, "Of course not. I'd probably be weirded out as well,"  
"Good, cause I don't intend to do that," Oki said.  
"You won't hear any complaints from me," Sumi was very happy to see Shinji when he went to school the next day.  
She had been waiting in front of 'D Cluster' before class like always, hoping to see him once again. After a week of constant waiting, she was finally able to see him.  
She hadn't seen or heard from him in over a week and was beginning to really worry about him. It also didn't help that he never returned her phone calls, she leaving a similar message to call her every time she got the answering machine.  
"Shinji!" she came rushing up to him, about to throw herself in to his arms.  
She stopped short when she saw the rather sad look on his face. "Are you all right?" she asked.  
Shinji nodded, "Yeah. I'm all right,"  
He regarded her intently which made her blush a bit.  
"It's good to see you again," he smiled warmly, "It's been a while,"  
"Where have you been all this time?" she asked, "I've been really worried. I haven't seen you in a week. I was about to come to your house to see if you were all right,"  
"Let's just say bad things happened to me," Shinji said, "I needed time alone to just collect my thoughts and absorb in all that had happened," "Bad things? What bad things?" she asked, concerned. She wondered if one of his friends died or gotten seriously hurt and lay in a coma.  
Shinji took several deep breaths. Sumi knew all there was about him so there was no reason to lie. She and Oki were the only two people outside the group that was close to him and there was no reason to keep them in the dark about all that had happened. As to whether or not they believed him, it was their prerogative.  
First off, he needed to tell her something very important that couldn't be put off.  
"You know Emiko," Shinji said. "Yes, what about her?" she asked, "Did something bad happen to her? Is she all right?"  
Shinji shook his head, "No. She's fine, now, that is. Before I tell you about what happened, I just wanted to letcha know that..."  
"That you and her are in love?" she asked. Shinji was surprised, "How'd you know?"  
She gave a slight smile, "Actually, I wasn't positive that that was true, but now I know for sure,"  
"Oh," Shinji said, "Um, how'd you figure it out?"  
"You two spend so much time together," Sumi said, "I guess it was just a matter of time before you realized she was in love with you,"  
"Wait, you knew she was in love with me?" he asked, surprised.  
She nodded, "Yes. I saw the quick glances she made toward you during Friday dinner. It doesn't take a genius to put two and two together,"  
"So how come you-"  
"Because I like you, too," Sumi said, blushing, "I took a risk, and I guess I lost. I didn't know that you were in love with her as well,"  
"Are you upset?" he asked.  
She gave a slight shrug, "Yeah, but what can I do about it? You two've known each other much longer than we've known each other. I really like you, but I'm not in love with you,"  
"Ouch," Shinji winced.  
Sumi quickly said, "Um, I didn't meant to say it like that. I didn't mean to offend you. It came out all wrong,"  
Shinji gave a slight smile, "Don't worry. It's all right,"  
She shrugged, giving a slight laugh in accompaniment, "You win some and you lose some. I guess I happen to not have a knack for this game,"  
"Don't say that," Shinji said, "I'm sure you'll find someone,"  
"Well, anyway, I do hope you two are happy. Truly, I do," she said earnestly.  
"Thanks," he scratched his head, "Man, I'm glad,"  
"What do you mean?" she asked.  
"I'm really glad that this didn't get bad," he said.  
She said, "We were in the beginning stages of our relationship. Had we been together for a while and I been in love with you, it would've been a totally different story,"  
Shinji gulped, "Um, I guess you have a point,"  
There was a moment of awkward silence.  
"Look, I'm really really sorry it came to this," he said, "I hope we can put this behind us,"  
She smiled, "I'm sure we could. It'll feel a bit awkward for the first few weeks, what with the fact that we were boyfriend and girlfriend for a couple of weeks, but that'll pass,"  
He nodded, "Yeah. I really had fun hanging out with you and your friends and don't wanna lose that. I hope we can continue seeing each other,"  
Sumi smirked, "Yes, seeing each other, but not in the sense of dating each other, but I understand what you mean,"  
"Yeah, that," Shinji said, wishing he had thought more carefully about his words, "If we hang out again, I'd really like to bring Emiko with us, that is, if you don't mind,"  
"I don't mind," she said, "I really like Emiko. She's a nice girl. I don't mind at all. It'd be better. The more the merrier,"  
Shinji smiled, "Thanks. I'm glad to hear that,"  
He took a deep breath.  
"Now that I've got that out in the open, I can tell you about what happened to me that was so bad," he began.  
Sumi asked, "Should I sit down?"  
"Um, okay, if you like," Shinji said, wondering if sitting down while being told something very shock was of any help. Perhaps it was since that meant there was less distance to fall in case the shock caused her to faint. But then again, why would she faint?  
Sumi decided to remain standing.  
"You know all the stuff I told you about my past?" Shinji began.  
She nodded.  
"A week ago, I went through what makes all that I've been through seem like nothing," Shinji said.  
He went on to explain what happened to this world a week ago, about how all his friends were killed and he had gone to two different worlds to seek help in defeating Ranma.  
As he was beginning to explain his arrival in the second world, he looked at his watch.  
"Looks like class is about to start," he said.  
Sumi looked hesitant about what to do.  
"Go on to class," he said, turning around to leave, "I'll explain everything later,"  
"Wait, what about you?" she asked, "Aren't you going to class? We can talk after it,"  
"No, I'm not coming to class anymore. I'm dropping out of school,"

Shinji was teaching a martial arts class a few days after having officially dropped out of school when Akane entered the dojo. He needed to do something to keep his mind occupy. Only time will make the feeling of loss of Ranma abate. Everyone had their own way of dealing with all that had happened. Most of the group buried themselves in work, to occupy their time. Lina and Luna had gone back to their own world, promising that they would be back soon. Rei and Asuka buried themselves in their schoolwork.  
It was sometime shortly after noontime when Akane approached him in the dojo.  
"Shinji, you're not going to believe this..." Akane began.  
"What is it?" he asked.  
"There are a few people here to see you," she smirked.  
Shinji wondered who it could be. He had a funny feeling that it was Sumi and her housemate, Meito. They were probably there to try and convince him to go back to school.  
"Sumi and Meito again?" Shinji asked.  
Akane shook her head, "No. Not this time around,"  
"Then who?" he asked.  
"Go find out for yourself," Akane said, "They're in the livingroom,"  
Shinji noticed the rather amused look on Akane's face and instantly realized who she was talking about.  
"Asuka, Ritsuko, and Misato?" he asked.  
She nodded, "Yes, it seems like the three you brought back from the other world has finally come back in to your life. I can't wait to hear the details,"  
"But I already told you," Shinji said, "I brought them back here from the other world,"  
"I know that, but I'm eager to hear the details from them," Akane said, "Anyway, you should go and say hi to them,"  
"Can you take over for me?" he asked.  
"Sure," she smiled.  
Shinji excused himself from the class and told the students to practice in pairs for the next fifteen minutes and left the dojo. Entering the house, he couldn't help but feel a great flood of emotions envelop him when he saw Asuka, Misato, and Ritsuko sitting on a couch in the livingroom. "S-Shinji!" Asuka first noticed him first, getting up off the couch, "We've missed you,"  
She rushed across the room and dove in to his arms, giving him a warm embrace. This caught Shinji off-guard with surprise. A second later, Shinji smiled and returned the embrace.  
"It's nice to see you all again," he said, "I missed you, too,"  
He glanced over toward the clock and noticed that it was nearing one. That meant it would be a few hours before the older Asuka came home from class. That would be quite a sight to behold, and older Asuka meeting her younger alternate self.  
Misato and Ritsuko gave Shinji a warm embrace, telling him how glad they were to see him again. When they were done, they sat down around the couch, Shinji sitting in the chair adjacent to it.  
"It seems like you succeeded in defeating Ranma," Misato commented, "We're all alive and well, afterall,"  
Shinji gave a sad smile, "Yeah, I guess so,"  
"What happened?" Ritsuko asked eagerly, "I'd really like to hear about all that's happened,"  
Shinji was silent for several long moments. If Ranma could accept what he had become, then so can I, Shinji thought.  
"I was killed fighting Ranma,"  
"What?" they asked in unison, very confused.  
"I'll explain everything," he began.  
The three girls were speechless as they listened to his explanation about what happened after they had been sent off to a far away place for safety reasons. He went on to explain about how he was killed by Rei in the final moments of battle as he held Ranma down.  
"Rei?" they gasped, "How did she get here?"  
"Yeah," Shinji answered, "But not the Rei from your world, the Rei from my world. It seems like she, having been merged with Ranma, developed the same God-  
abilities as he. She made the killing blow, not I. I was killed as I tried held Ranma down,"  
He went on to explain how the world was recreated right up to the moment before Ranma was corrupted. It explained why the three of them never remembered hearing about the explosion of Unit-01 that took out Japan and a good portion of China and other nearby continents.  
"Well, it does make sense," Ritsuko commented, "It does explain the fact that this city, what do you call it, MegaTokyo, is not some pile of debris like when we first arrived,"  
Shinji nodded, "Yeah. It may seem confusing seeing all this, but that's what happened. The world was recreated but only a few people retain their memories about what had happened. Where you are now is the recreated city of MegaTokyo on a recreated world,"  
"Man, this is so incredible," Ritsuko said.  
"What, you have trouble believing all of this?" Shinji asked, "Keep in mind that, considering what we've been through, nothing should really surprise you,"  
"Still," Misato said.  
"How'd you manage to find me?" Shinji asked, wanting to change the subject, "Where did the Angels take you guys after we parted?"  
"We were taken to Germany where we stayed there for a few days before we thought the coast was clear," Misato said, "When the Angels mysteriously disappeared, we had no way of getting back here to search for you. It took us a while to scrounge up the money to buy airplane tickets here,"  
"The Angels mysteriously disappearing was most likely when I got killed. How did you managed to get the money?" he asked Misato said, "We tried to make the money legitimately but that would've taken so long so we had Ritsuko hack an ATM machine and give us the necessary money for the tickets. Anyway, we managed to get the money and bought three tickets here. To our surprise, when we arrived back in Japan, namely where we left off, we see a city where there didn't use to be one,"  
"We did a search for 'Shinji Ikari' on the Internet after we got here and found this address," Ritsuko added, "Lo and behold, we find show up at the address and find you here,"  
"Wow," Shinji said, "That's amazing, and with good timing too,"  
"Huh?" Misato asked, "What do you mean?"  
"I'm changing my name," Shinji said, "I already filled out the paper work and simply waiting for everything to be processed,"  
"What? You're changing your name? To what?" Asuka asked.  
"I'm changing my last name to Saotome," Shinji said.  
"Shinji Saotome?" Asuka commented, shrugging after a moment, "That doesn't sound so bad. How come you're changing it?"  
Shinji smiled, "I'm doing it in honor of Ranma,"  
"But-" Ritsuko began.  
"Not the Ranma I was supposed to kill," Shinji said, "I meant my friend Ranma. Carrying on his name is the very least I can do after all that he had gone through for me," "What do you mean?" they all asked.  
Shinji shook his head, "Sorry, but that's something I can't tell you. That's a part of Ranma's past that he would not want revealed," He was referring to the 'Nerima Massacre' and how it was the catalyst the triggered the chain of events the led to Ranma's arrival in his world.  
"Why not?" they asked.  
"There are a few things that Ranma never wants revealed," Shinji said, "If he were to tell it, then it should be him doing the talking, not me. It's what he wanted,"  
The three said nothing.  
"Shinji Saotome, huh? It's got a nice ring to it," Misato smirked, "It's too bad I don't know much about this Ranma Saotome guy you admire so much. He sounds like a good guy,"  
Shinji shrugged, "Yeah, but he's gone so that'll never be the case. I tried to convince him to come back but he decided against it. He said it was his time to go,"  
Wanting to change the subject, Shinji said, "So, how long are you guys here for? Did you guys need help getting on your feet?"  
"Um, we really don't know how long," Misato said, giving a meek smile, "In actuality, we gambled everything and came here hoping to settle down here,"  
Shinji's eyes widened, "R-really? You're going to settle down here in MegaTokyo?"  
Misato smiled, "From what we saw when we were wandering around here, it seems like a nice place to live. Of course, considering we are from a different world and have no past or records on this world, we were hoping you would help us get on our feet,"  
Shinji smiled warmly, "Sure, I'll be glad to help in whatever way I can,"  
"Really?" they all looked happy.  
Shinji smirked, "Lettme guess, you didn't originally come here to visit me,"  
Misato shook her head, "You're wrong. We actually came here to visit you and see how you were doing. We never really planned ahead about what we would do after we got here. Our deciding to settle here was a spur of the moment kind of thing,"  
"Really? Wow," Shinji was surprised.  
Misato smirked, "I guess it's because you've kinda rubbed off on us. You seem to handle things on the fly and did really well so why couldn't we? Since the three of us are basically alone on a new world and only have each other, we figured at least being near someone we know, that being you, will help the transition easier,"  
"Actually, I think it could be even easier than you think," Shinji said, "Your alternate selves lives here as well. I'm sure they'll be more than happy to take you guys under their wings. Even though you're the same people, more or less, they're older than you so they're kinda like your sempai,"  
"Wow," they all said.  
At that moment, Asuka entered the house, having come home early since one of her classes had been cancelled.  
She entered the livingroom, ready to flop down on the couch and just watch some television. She was actually glad that Lina wasn't around hogging the television like always.  
Shortly after she entered the livingroom and dropped her books off by the entrance, she caught sight of Misato and Ritsuko.  
"Wow, what brings you guys here?" Asuka asked. It was very unusual seeing any of the adult females showing up around the house besides Friday nights. They usually had work since they were working women and worked much like all adults that lived in MegaTokyo.  
Shinji smirked, wondering how long it'll be before Asuka spotted her younger self as well as realized that they were not the same Misato and Ritsuko she knew.  
After short moment, Asuka spotted her younger self, whom was every bit as surprised to see her. All the older Asuka could say was,  
"What the hell?"

Shinji and the younger Asuka entered MegaTokyo high school together.  
It was sometime in the middle of the afternoon the next day and Shinji was trying to take care of things and help Asuka get settled in living on this world.  
"Man, I dunno what I'm supposed to do," Shinji muttered as the two of them walked down the hallway, following the signs that pointed toward the main office.  
"Well, if I'm going to be living here in MegaTokyo and with you guys for a while, it's only natural that I need to enroll in high school,"  
Shinji scratched his head, "I guess you have a point. But still, why me? I have no idea how to go about enrolling you. How am I the adult here? I'm only five years older than you,"  
"Well, Akane did say that an adult signature is needed for me to enroll," Asuka said, "That's why you're here,"  
"I know, but why couldn't Akane do it? She's more of an adult than I am," Shinji commented, "This school's never gonna believe I'm your guardian. I'm only slightly older than you for God's sake,"  
"Well, what was her name?" Asuka said, "She said she would take care of the computer files and such and register you and Akane as my guardian,"  
Shinji said, "Her name's Nene. Don't worry, you'll get used to everyone's name. I know meeting everyone last night was basically information overload, but you'll get used to it,"  
"What do you think she did?" Asuka asked.  
"She knows computers really well," Shinji answered, "He probably hacked in to some super database and added you to their records and gave you and Ritsuko and Misato identities,"  
"That's good to hear," Asuka said, "So that means, at least one computer, it seems like we are actually people that live on this world, huh?"  
Shinji nodded, "Yeah. However, I still don't understand why I'm put down as you benefactor. Oh well, it doesn't really matter. My existence on this world is all a big lie also so it doesn't really matter anyway,"  
"You guys don't mind my living at your place?" Asuka asked.  
Shinji waved a dismissive hand, "Nah. Why should we? Sure, there will be two people there that answer to the same name, but I'm sure it won't be all that much of a problem,"  
"It seems like Misato and Ritsuko will do just fine," Asuka changed the subject.  
"Yeah," Shinji said, "Their older selves are taking them in. They'll all be living together. In a sense, Misato and Ritsuko are set since they'll be working together in the company their older selves founded when the older Ritsuko started marketing MAGI for personal computers,"  
Shinji nodded, "Yeah. They're off to a good start as well. Heck, if you think about it, you three got here the other day and already you're hitting the ground running. All three of you have places to stay. Misato and Ritsuko already have jobs. All that's left is for you to be enrolled in high school,"  
"Right," she said. Shinji and Asuka continued walking down the hallway toward the main office.  
"Hey," someone called out to them.  
The two of them turned around and found themselves facing a middle-aged man.  
"What are you two kids wandering the halls?" the man said, "Get back to your classes,"  
Shinji and Asuka looked at one another.  
"First off, we don't go to school here," Shinji answered, "I'm not even a high school student anymore. I graduated from high school over a year ago,"  
"What about her?" the man gestured toward Asuka.  
"She doesn't go to school here," Shinji answered, "I'm here to enroll her here,"  
"Oh," the man said.  
"Now, if you don't mind," Shinji said. Together, Shinji and Asuka walked down the hall while the man stepped aside for them to walk by him.  
"Wow, I like the way you handled that," Asuka commented, "You sure told him,"  
Shinji chuckled, "I did, didn't I? That's kinda funny because I don't think I would've answered back like that back then,"  
The two of them continued down the hallways, indulging in conversation.  
"So, what do you plan on doing?" Asuka asked.  
"Well, we're gonna go get you enrolled," Shinji said.  
"No," Asuka giggled, "Not that. What do you plan on doing from here on? You said you dropped out of school. What do you plan on doing for a living?"  
Shinji said, "Oh. That. Well, I'm going to help Akane teach classes. On this side, I'm gonna continue boxing,"  
"Boxing, huh?" Asuka asked, "Do you like it?"  
Shinji nodded, "Yeah. I really like it. What's funny is that I forgot one of the reasons why I became a boxer,"  
"What reason is that?" she asked.  
"To become a boxing champion and lure a guy named Boon out from hiding or whatever so I can challenge him," Shinji said, "It was said that he was an amazing fighter and Ranma wanted me to lure him out so he could challenge Boon after Boon challenged me,"  
"But Ranma isn't around anymore," Asuka commented.  
Shinji gave a sad look, "That's true. That's why my goal to get this Boon guy to fight me is no longer worthwhile,"  
"So what are you going to do?" she asked.  
"Nothing," Shinji said, "I'm going to continue on boxing. Whether or not the guy challenges me doesn't matter anymore. Ranma isn't around so I don't really care if I get challenged. Besides, considering what I've been through, something like that is really trivial nowadays,"  
"Well, whoever this Boon guy is, I'm sure you would win," Asuka commented with a warm smile, "If you could fight God, I'm sure you could fight some guy,"  
Shinji paused for a moment.  
He then laughed.  
"Wow. You know what? You're right,"  
"Asu-chan, Misa-chan, Ritsu-chan," Shinji smirked, "Those names have a nice ring to it. It'll really help keep us all from confusing your names,"  
It was now Friday and Shinji and the others were gathered around a round dinner table for their usual Friday dinner. The difference was that the younger version of Asuka, Misato, and Ritsuko were joining them. Also there were Meito, Sumi, and Oki. Heck, even Ryoga was there, somehow not having gotten lost ever since he came back with everyone else. By now, the dinner group had gotten so large that two tables needed to be joined together to fit the large group.  
"I don't like the thought of being called Asu-chan even if I am younger than my other self," the younger Asuka said.  
"Same here," the two younger Misato and Ritsuko agreed.  
"So what are we gonna do about it?" Shinji asked, "If you three are gonna be living here as well as your older selves, the extra names is gonna cause confusion,"  
"I think we should do nothing," the younger Asuka said, "We should keep our names the same and be referred to it in the same way as our older selves,"  
"Yeah, but how will we know if you're referring to the younger or older version when you say our names?" the older Misato asked, "If you think we are gonna refer to each other by name followed by a number, that's just stupid,"  
"How about we use something like OlderMisato, OlderRitsuko, and OlderAsuka?" Shinji suggested.  
The older Misato laughed, "Yes, I'm sure having the prefix, 'Older', before our names, will make us feel much better,"  
"So what do we do about the names?" Sylia asked, "Having names will make things confusing whenever we refer to either one of them,"  
"Let's just do nothing," Shinji finally suggested, "I'm sure we can get by that somehow or another,"  
Everyone seemed to agree.  
A couple of weeks passed without incident. The younger Asuka became the most popular girl in MegaTokyo high school. Even though the older Asuka went to the same school, there was no suspicion as to why she shared the same name because the teachers there assumed she was basically Asuka the second but simply referred to her as Asuka.  
Shinji and Emiko continued on training at the gym, choosing to go there at a little bit later than usual, so that the two of them can stop by MegaTokyo High to meet up with Asuka when she was done with school.  
The funny part was that Asuka didn't seem to make any effort in hiding her obvious crush on Shinji. Several times she and Emiko butted heads because of that. The fact that young Asuka liked Shinji annoyed the heck out of her older version. She couldn't understand why her younger self like him so much.  
The younger Misato and Ritsuko ended up moving out and getting an apartment together. This was because they were paid and made quite a bit of money, even if they were working for their older selves. In doing so, they managed to make enough money to get their own place, so they wouldn't be a burden on their older selves. What was amazing was that now that there were two Ritsuko on this world, and they were working together, the computer industry would soon jump astronomically once the newest revision of MAGI is released to the public.  
Shinji and Emiko continued training at Makunouchi Gym those days. However, before they went to train, Shinji spent his morning teaching classes at the dojo and even Oki. Since Ranma was no longer around, Shinji assumed Ranma's responsibilities like training Oki. Afterall, the tournament set up between Ranma and Tsuki Hyusa, the man that own a school up in Hokkaido, was still on and Shinji wanted Oki to win that tournament and was willing to help him in whatever way possible.  
After teaching classes and training Oki, Shinji and Emiko went on to train at the gym. When done with that, they headed home where Shinji would train the afternoon and evening classes before he would, get this, train both Asuka. Because the older Asuka did constantly spar against Emiko, she reluctantly let Shinji train her so that she could keep up with Emiko. When the older Asuka had first approached him, Shinji had been cautious, figuring it was some kind of joke. However, he came to regret thinking that way when he realized she was serious. The younger Asuka trained with Shinji simply because she continued to like him and wanted to be near him. Also, she did like the thought of being able to defend herself like her older counter part.  
After training the two girls, Shinji went on to train Emiko late that evening before he would finally train by himself and go to sleep, only to repeat that all over again the very next day.  
To anyone, that kind of routine sounded very tedious. But to Shinji, it was anything but that. Training people made him realize just how much he loved it and could picture himself doing it for the rest of his life. Sometime after the second week of doing so, Shinji approached Akane while she was in the kitchen one day cutting groceries.  
"Akane," he asked.  
"Hm?" she asked, continuing on preparing dinner.  
"Um, I'd like to take over the school," he said, trying to sound confident, "I'd like to carry on the school and become a full-time sensei," Akane smiled, "I'm glad to hear that, but what about boxing?"  
Shinji said, "I think I would rather be a sensei than a boxer. I love boxing, don't get me wrong. However, one of my goals was to fight this guy named Boon. Now, considering what I've been through, a goal like that seems, I dunno, trivial,"  
"So you're going to quit boxing, just like that?" Akane asked, "Because one of your main goal doesn't seem all that worthwhile anymore?"  
Shinji was silent, not really knowing how to answer such a question.  
After a moment, he finally said, "No, it's not like that. It's just that I would rather be a full-time sensei than anything else,"  
Akane thought about it for a moment, "No. I won't letcha do it,"  
"Huh?" Shinji was surprised.  
"I'm declining your proposal to take over the school," she said, "I'll continue to run it while you continue to box,"  
"But-" Shinji began.  
Akane stopped cutting her groceries and turned to face Shinji.  
"You're still young," she said, "You may have matured quite a bit because of all that's happened, but you're still a young man. The school can wait. It isn't going anywhere. Do what you want while you're still young. Continue to box,"  
"But I'd rather-" he began.  
"Are you sure?" Akane asked, "Are you sure you would rather teach martial arts over boxing? You only recently became a pro boxer. Aren't you jumping the gun a bit prematurely?"  
"I-I dunno, perhaps," he said, "What do you think I should do?"  
"Continue on boxing," she said, "You're still young. Too young as a matter of fact. After a few years, you can come to be again about taking over the school and I might reconsider,"  
That was as far as the conversation had gone. Shinji never spoke to Akane about taking over the school after that. Akane was older and wiser than he so perhaps it was for the better. He would take over the school when Akane considered him worthy of taking it over.  
Although no one understood why, Shinji rose in rank within Makunouchi Gym.  
Shinji's adventure had made him insanely powerful, far more skilled a fighter than he had ever been before. Just how powerful had he become?  
It was determined one day, a couple weeks after Shinji had talked to Akane about taking over the dojo, when Ippo had decided to spar him. Shinji had easily defeated every fighter he sparred against with no problems and Ippo had been curious as to just how much Shinji had improved over time. He figured Shinji had done some kind of weird training during the week he hadn't been at the gym and wanted to see for himself how well that training had gone.  
Ippo was defeated by Shinji in the sparring match. It had been a close match, both fighters having landed an equal amount of blows. But in the end, Shinji had more stamina than even Ippo.  
The gym was completely silent when Ippo was knocked down a third time in the tenth round and lost to Shinji with a technical knock out. No one really knew how to respond. The had no idea how it was possible for Ippo to have been defeated.  
The person that knew why was Shinji and only Shinji.  
Shinji had cheated. It was in the heat of battle, Shinji's body took on a life of its own, reacting to and dodging punches he was not supposed to be able to react to. In the end, he came to the realization that Ranma hadn't transferred only his memories. He had somehow transferred his fighting skills in to Shinji, some kind of dormant fighting style that Shinji could only summon when absolutely needed.  
Shinji had been deep in thought over that when Ippo approached him.  
"Good job, Shinji," Ippo said, smiling happily, "You won,"  
"Y-you're n-not mad that I defeated you?" Shinji was shocked.  
Ippo continued to smile, "Well, I'm a bit upset that I lost, but not at you. I had a funny feeling that you would eventually beat me in a sparring match, but I never suspected it would be this quickly. I figured it would take you a few years before you would be able to beat me. I'm more along the lines of surprised that I lost to you so early in your boxing career," "I'm sorry," Shinji had a sad face, "I-I shouldn'tve won,"  
"But you did, and for that, congratulations," Ippo said, "I haven't fought this hard in the longest time. It really brought back memories and I'm glad. Over the decades, I've forgotten how exciting it was to fight an amazing opponent,"  
A tear fell down Shinji's face.  
"You okay?" Ippo asked.  
Shinji wiped at his eyes, "Yeah, I'm fine,"  
In reality, he really wasn't. It really hurt on the inside to have defeated Ippo. He saw Ippo as an invincible force, an undefeatable opponent, as if he were inhuman. Having defeated Ippo, Shinji came to realize that Ippo was human much like everyone else. It hurt to find that out. It hurt to be proven wrong.

Before long, a month had passed since everyone came back.  
Everything had become relatively normal, at least as normal as things could be without Ranma around.  
It was very ironic what normal was anymore. Shinji and everyone was used to Ranma's antics which they considered just a normal occurrence in their lives. Now that he was no longer there, there was a void that they felt would remain forever evident.  
Wanting to try and move on, Shinji approached Ippo.  
"I think I'm ready for my debut match," Shinji said.  
Ippo smiled, "I'm glad to hear that. I was beginning to worry if you ever intended to fight in a ring outside this gym. It'd be a shame if you didn't fight considering how well you do in the ring here at the gym,"  
"Thanks," Shinji said, "It's just that a lot had been on my mind for the past month. I'm glad I didn't hafta fight or anything. My mind has been wandering around a lot but now I'm ready to shape up and buckle down and focus all of my attention on my boxing career,"  
"Good," Ippo said, "I'm glad you came to me now instead of later,"  
"Huh? What do you mean?" Shinji asked.  
"Your debut match is the day after tomorrow," Ippo said, "You know the debut match you were supposed to have? I never cancelled it. I merely pushed it back two weeks. There's no need for you to prepare because you're in tip-top condition to fight whenever,"  
"What? You did?" Shinji's eyes widened.  
Ippo smiled slightly, "Yeah. When my mom died a while ago, it devastated me. I needed time to be alone and collect my thoughts. I'm sure that's what you felt when Ranma died. I assumed that by around now, you'll have recovered and accepted everything and have finally decided to move on,"  
"H-how'd you-" Shinji began. He had never told Ippo what had been bothering him.  
"I bumped in to Akane one day in town about a week ago," Ippo said, "She told me about how Ranma died,"  
Shinji was silent for a moment, "Um, do you know how he died?"  
Ippo said, "She told me everything. Frankly, I still have trouble believing what I heard. Is it all true? Was it you and Rei that killed him?"  
Shinji hung his head low. That seemed a good enough answer.  
Ippo smiled slightly, "I knew Ranma was odd and did odd things, but I never thought he would've done stuff like try and fight God. That's just plain unbelievable,"  
"I know," Shinji said.  
"How come you never told me?" Ippo asked, "You can tell me anything,"  
"I'm sorry," Shinji said, "I didn't meant to keep the truth from you. It's just that...I didn't want you to think I was some kinda crazy person had I told you the truth. I really like boxing and I don't want you getting worried about me and not let me come to the gym anymore because you thought I was crazy,"  
Ippo smiled warmly, "You don't hafta worry about that. I'll never do that,"  
"I'm glad to hear that," Shinji said, "I promise I won't keep you in the dark about who I am,"  
Ippo smiled. "That's good to hear,"

Shinji's debut match was considered one of the greatest debut matches in boxing history. This was because, for the first time in boxing history, he looked the part of an absolute underdog. Not only that, the audience that watched the fight was unlike any audience that had ever filled an auditorium for a debut match.  
Shinji really weighed around a hundred and ninety pounds, a weight class of Cruiserweight, but he didn't look like it. He looked like he weight around a hundred and sixty pounds. His opponents looked like he weighed a hundred and ninety pounds. The size difference was very noticeable. Even though they were around the same weight, Shinji's opponent looked like he weighed thirty pounds of solid muscle heavier.  
The debut match was a great distraction for everyone. Being able to get away from their routine life to do something different was welcomed.  
Everyone had gone to the debut match and cheered loudly at Shinji as he climbed nervously in to the ring. Because all of Shinji's friends had been there to cheer for him, that debut match had been considered to have contained the most famous individuals for debut match ever. This was because Priss, Ritsuko, and Lisa were there watching, all of them famous in their own field of expertise. That match also had the greatest turnout of an audience for a debut match. Sure, it was because Priss had been there and the audience consisted mostly of press people there for her, not Shinji, but it was still a packed auditorium nonetheless.  
Shinji's debut match lasted only three seconds, the shortest time for a boxing match in boxing history. This was because the moment the bell ran, Shinji darted forward and hit his opponent with his first and only punch. He had hit the guy with such force that it knocked the guy out completely, the referee not even needing to count the guy out.  
It was a combination of things that made it one of the greatest matches in history. The auditorium had been packed, the fight had lasted three seconds, Priss, Ritsuko, and Lisa had been there watching and cheering, and it was the first instance where two opponents looked vastly physically different in size even though they weighed the same.  
All in all, Shinji's debut match had been a match to remember.

A few weeks passed after the debut match.  
Shinji resumed his regular every day routines. However, during one of those random afternoon days, Akane approached him as he was his last class before he was expected to head out to the gym with Emiko.  
"Shinji," Akane approached him in the dojo.  
"What is it Akane?" Shinji turned toward her.  
Akane held forward a small letter. Shinji took it at looked at it and noticed that it was addressed to him. It had no return address so he had no idea who had written that letter.  
"Who's this from?" Shinji asked.  
Akane shrugged, "I don't know. It came in the mail today,"  
"Okay," he said, shrugged.  
He opened the letter right then and there.  
Akane excused herself. Since the letter was addressed to Shinji, there was no reason for her to see what it said. Of course, she was curious about what it said, but that would not be right, to read over Shinji's shoulder.  
Shinji opened the letter and excitedly began reading the contents.  
'I hope Ranma is never forgotten'  
As he read it, his visage started changing and became sad. The letter was short and to the point. However, that didn't stop him from rereading it several times.  
When he was done reading it, he wiped the tears that started flowing from his eyes. Because he shared Ranma's memories, he knew exactly who wrote that. It was Ranma. He had written that letter around four years ago, when this world was being attacked by Angels. He closed the letter, intent on carrying out Ranma's final request.  
"Don't worry Ranma, I'll make sure you're never forgotten,"

new stuff 1/12

Shinji and Oki sat facing one another on a train headed north toward Hokkaido. In his hands was the address to the dojo where the tournament would be taking place. They were taking the train because Shinji didn't want to risk using the nanban mirror and suddenly finding himself high in the air needing to land correctly.  
A month had passed since Shinji's debut match and the tournament between schools would be taking place tomorrow. Sitting in separate seats near them were several other students from the dojo, also heading to Hokkaido to participate in the tournament. It was just that Shinji and Oki sat together.  
"Congrats on winning your second pro fight yesterday," Oki said, "I'm sorry I couldn't be there to cheer you,"  
"I know, you had to stay and help out your parents with the restaurant," Shinji said, "It's understandable. Congrats to you for winning your second pro fight last week. You did really well,"  
"Not quite as well as you," Oki commented.  
Shinji smirked, "Hey, you won with a first round knockout much like I did for my matches,"  
Oki nodded, "Yeah, but unlike you, the guy was counted out. With your matches, your opponent was knocked out completely that the referee didn't even bother to count,"  
Shinji gave a shy but embarrassed smile, "I guess you have a point,"  
"Man, fighting in the pro league is so much more intense and harder than sparring in the gym," Oki said, "Having all those people watching you and knowing that they're watching you is very nerve-racking,"  
Shinji nodded, "I know whatcha mean,"  
"Do you know who your next opponent will be?" Oki asked.  
"Yeah, it's Ichiro Miyata," Shinji answered, "Remember him? He was supposed to fight against for my original debut match. However, when we sparred, he broke his hand punching me,"  
"Of course I know about Miyata," Oki said, "That guy's the seed favorite to win the Rookie Championship. Sure, you'll be entering that tournament as well and will most likely win it, but you're still basically an unknown. You and I need several wins under our belt to be really noticed,"  
"True," Shinji said.  
"Man, I'm excited about tomorrow's tournament," Oki said, "I hope I do well in it. What do you think?"  
"You'll do fine. You've been training really hard these past two months," Shinji chuckled, "However, you need to keep in mind that it's a martial arts tournament so kicking is allowed. Hopefully, you don't accidentally start boxing in during your matches tomorrow. That would make things really difficult,"  
"Ha ha," Oki said, "I know that,"

Shinji and Oki and the group of students approached the 'Hyusa School of Martial Arts' located in Hokkaido early in the morning the next day, about an hour past the expected time they were supposed to have been there.  
Shinji recognized the dojo. He remembered having been there a few months before with Ranma. However, this time around, he was not coming back with Ranma like expected.  
"So, this is the school, huh?" Oki said, impressed with how nice the dojo looked. It looked just as nice if not nicer than the dojo where he and the other students trained.  
Shinji nodded, "Yeah,"  
He turned to face the group of students behind him "All right students, I hope you guys all do well," he gave them words of encouragement. He couldn't help but feel a bit embarrassed as all the students loudly and proudly said. "We'll do our best, sensei," they shouted in unison.  
Together, they all entered the dojo.  
Once inside, they all found themselves feeling a bit out of place, like they were stepping in to enemy territory, when the class of around fifty students stopped what they were doing to look over at the incoming group.  
The stood there in awkward silence for a minute, the class resuming its training, before Shinji was approached by a familiar looking face. It was Katsuhito and Otomo, the two students from this school that had come to his school and challenged the school during the time when Ranma had been away.  
"G'morning," Katsuhito and Otomo said, bowing politely.  
"Morning," Shinji said, bowing in return. The group of student behind him bowed respectfully as well, mirroring Shinji's movements.  
"I'm glad you all made it," Katsuhito said, "We figured you might have had trouble finding the dojo,"  
"We took a wrong turn," Shinji said truthfully, "We were walking for around a half hour before we realized it and had to backtrack,"  
"We're glad you made it," Otomo said.  
"Thanks," Shinji said.  
"Please, wait right here while I get the Master," Otomo said, "He's in the back room talking with an old friend of his that he hadn't seen in a while. It'll tell him that you guys have finally arrived,"  
"Thanks," Shinji said again.  
They watched as Otomo ran off and disappeared through a door located by the back of the class. After a short while, Otomo and two people emerged from the back room. Shinji immediately recognized one of the guys as Tsuki Hyusa, a man that was older than he looked, the master of the school. He remembered sparring against that man and had been defeated quite badly. It made Shinji realize that he had a long ways to go before he would become a formidable enough opponent for that man.  
Shinji couldn't help but wonder if he himself had gotten strong enough to contend with the master of this school. It was most likely but it couldn't hurt to think otherwise.  
The other man Shinji didn't recognize. When he first saw him, he couldn't help but feel nervous as he looked at the giant of a man standing near the Master of the school.  
He noticed that the giant man and Tsuki were talking to one another and smiling. It led him to believe that they were most likely friends, perhaps childhood friends. The giant man looked to be around the same age as Tsuki.  
The giant man stood around a foot and a half taller than Shinji and looked to weigh somewhere in the vicinity of five hundred pounds of solid mass. The man was very large, but not in a muscular way but neither an overweight way. It looked like the man possessed the body more of a powerlifter instead of a weightlifter, giving of a strange aura of immense strength.  
His forearms looked to be as think as Shinji's legs and had tattoos on each other them, one forearm had a tattoo of a rooster while the other had a tattoo of a pig. This got Shinji thinking about something. Could it be possible that that man was some kind of sailor or seaman? Since Shinji had this general fascination with ships, he was aware certain tattoos usually meant some significance for seamen. From what he remembered and read, a rooster and pig was a superstition that, since those kind of animals couldn't swim, there being exceptions of course, it meant they would get the seamen to shore quickly if they ever fell overboard.  
Shinji chuckled. Why was he thinking that? Perhaps he was seeing in to thing more than he believed.  
When Shinji noticed the letters 'HOLD' on the knuckles of one hand and 'FAST' on the other hand, he realized his assumption was correct. This was because the 'HOLD' and 'FAST' was usually tattooed on seamen because it generally represented working with the riggings of a ship.  
"Hey, I think that big guy's some kinda seamen," Shinji commented softly to Oki.  
"How do you know?" Oki asked, scratching his head.  
"I dunno," Shinji said, "But I've got a hunch. It's those tattoos I see. They have some significance to a seamen. It's too coincidental that he would have those kinda particular tattoos and not be a seamen,"  
"Whatever the case, I really hope that guy doesn't enter the tournament," Oki commented, "As confident as I am in my abilities as a martial artist, that guy's just plain scary-looking,"  
Shinji nodded, "I know. Even if he doesn't know martial arts, he's probably one heck of an opponent to hafta fight against,"  
"I know," Oki agreed.  
"Sensei, is that guy in the tournament?" one nervous student asked, gesturing toward the giant man.  
Shinji shrugged, "I dunno. Hopefully not. However, even if he is, you and shouldn't be all that worried. You're all very skilled,"  
"T-thanks, sensei," the student said.  
Shinji noticed the Master look toward him as they made eye contact. The man didn't need to call for Shinji to know that he was being summoned.  
Shinji walked forward across the dojo mat and to where the Master and his friend was.  
"It's nice to see you again, Shinji," Tsuki said in a warm voice, "I trust you're doing well?" Shinji nodded, "I'm fine,"  
"Where's Ranma? I don't see him around," Tsuki asked, "Is he unable to be here today for the tournament?"  
Shinji was silent for a long moment before answering, "Ranma's gone. Um, he passed away,"  
"W-what?" Tsuki was very surprised, "How did he die?"  
Ranma was in amazing health. It seemed like nothing shy of a nuke would've killed him.  
"Um, Ranma's a lot older than he looked," Shinji said, "He may've looked young, but he was actually really old. He died two months ago of natural causes,"  
"Oh, I'm very sorry to hear that," Tsuki said, "My condolences,"  
"Thanks," Shinji gave a shy smile.  
"If you're still mourning his death, then perhaps you want more time," Tsuki said, "We could always cancel the tournament and reschedule,"  
Shinji waved a dismissive hand, "Don't worry. Life goes on. We've learned to deal with it. Besides, this is a good distraction for me and everyone else,"  
"Well, that's good to hear," Tsuki said, "This tournament should be quite a spectacular distraction at that. Oh yeah, I forgot to introduce you to my friend. This here is Keirojin, a real good childhood friend of mine," Shinji bowed politely, "Morning. I'm Shinji...Shinji Saotome,"  
He hid his obvious amazement at how large that man was. Being up close to the man made him realize that the man was a lot larger than he expected. He was close to two feet taller than him and probably around six hundred pounds of solid mass.  
"Nice you meetcha, kid," Keirojin said, extending a massive hand.  
Shinji, realizing the gesture, reached a hand forward and shook the giant's hand. "I saw your debut match on television a couple of months ago," Keirojin commented, "Ya did well,"  
Shinji's eyes widened, "Y-you saw that?"  
Keirojin laughed, "How could I not? That thing had so much coverage that there was no way I could not,"  
Shinji gave a shy smile, "That's because Priss was in the audience. Because she was paying attention to my match, everyone was basically paying attention to what she was paying attention to,"  
"Ah," Keirojin said.  
There was a moment of awkward silence as Shinji contemplated asking the giant if he was going to be participating in the tournament. Most of the students were a bit freaked out about the sight of him.  
"If you're gonna ask me if I'm gonna be in the tournament, the answer's 'no'," Keirojin smiled, patting Tsuki on the back, "I dropped by to visit Tsu here yesterday and he told me that there was gonna be a tournament today so I came back today to watch. Besides, even if I wanted to, I can't,"  
"You can't? Why not?" Shinji asked curiously.  
Keirojin tapped at his right leg, "I've got a bum leg. My knee keeps blowing out on me,"  
Tsuki turned toward his friend, "How many time to I have to tell you? Have surgery on it,"  
"Nope," Keirojin replied, "A friend of mine went to get his tonsils removed and never came out alive. I don't trust going under the knife. If there's an alternate way, then I'll find it,"  
"You've been saying that for around forty years," Tsuki said.  
"And I'll wait another forty if I'll hafta," the man said.  
"You're gonna be an old man by then," Tsuki said, "You and I aren't all that young anymore,"  
"Hey, I plan on living forever. So far so good," Keirojin said confidently.  
Shinji laughed. He liked Keirojin. There was a quality to him that reminded him a bit about his friend, Ranma. He seemed a bit carefree, as if nothing could faze him.  
"So, you do martial arts?" Shinji asked.  
Keirojin nodded, "Yeah. Tsu here and I used to train together when we were young. We trekked all over the world together training. But that was a long time ago. Since we both have families to worry about and such, we don't see each other that much,"  
"Wow," Shinji said.  
"Sorry, but I need to interrupt," Tsuki said, clearing his throat, "Shinji, if you don't mind, we'd like to do a round-robin tournament. That way, each of your students will get a chance to fight against each of my students. The one with the most wins from each side will go on to face one another. I'm hoping we can do this because it can help determine the best overall fighter,"  
"A round-robin tournament, huh? That sounds like a good idea,"  
The tournament took place in a giant auditorium that Tsuki rented out for the day. This was because all the student's family wanted to be there to cheer for their family member in the tournament.  
This was a bit of a disadvantage for Shinji's students since they were all here alone with no family members there to cheer for them.  
"Don't worry, guys," Shinji said to his nervous students, "We're may be the underdogs, but that shouldn't scare us,"  
Shinji couldn't help but feel a sense of nostalgia when he entered the auditorium. It reminded him much of his pro boxing matches, seats surrounding a ring located in the center of the giant room. The only difference was that there was no boxing ring. Instead, there was a raised dais around four times the size of a boxing ring but with no ropes surrounding it.  
When the tournament commence, the inside of the auditorium broke out in cheers for both combatants. There was such a great respect among schools that both school cheered both fighters and praised them.  
"Where ya from?" Keirojin asked from out of the blue.  
Shinji and Tsuki and Keirojin sat near one another, in a table close to the ring. They were to act as judge if there was ever the case.  
"MegaTokyo," Shinji said, "How about you?"  
"I don't live anywhere," the man said, "My home's the sea. I spend most of my life away at sea,"  
Shinji said, "Ah, I kinda figured,"  
"Oh?" the man perked an eyebrow.  
Shinji pointed toward the tattoos on the man's forearms and knuckles, "I assumed so because of those tattoos. It would seem rather odd to see someone with tattoos usually found on seamen if the person wasn't one,"  
The man laughed, "Wow, you're really perceptive. That's very good detective skills,"  
"Thanks," Shinji said, "I learned to be very observant from the late Ranma,"  
The man scratched his head, "MegaTokyo, huh? How old are you? Eighteen? Nineteen?"  
"Nineteen," Shinji said. Even though that wasn't his true age, what with the fact that he arrived in this world at a different time than when he left his world, he was nineteen on paper.  
"You go to college?" Shinji shook his head, "Not anymore. I used to go to Tokyo University. I studied Engineering Science for a year and a half before I dropped out,"  
"Why'dya drop out?" the man asked, "It's good to have an education,"  
"I decided I would rather concentrate on boxing and martial arts," Shinji said.  
"Say, do you happen to know a girl named Sumi Mino?" Keirojin asked, "She attends Tokyo University and studies Engineering as well,"  
Shinji's eyes widened, "Y-yes! I do know her! How do you know her? Are you somehow related to her?"  
"I know her father and mother," the man said, "I'm a captain of a ship. They used to work on my ship,"  
"Wow, that's amazing," Shinji said in amazement, "What a small world. Who would've thought that I'd meet the boss of the parents of Sumi here in Hokkaido?"  
"Ex-boss," the man smiled, "They used to work for me. When they got married, they left my ship to start a family. They live in Kyoto now. I visit them from time to time. We don't see each other all that often, but we do keep in touch,"  
"Man, this just amazing," Shinji said, "It's such a small world,"  
Shinji couldn't help but feel at ease with Keirojin. As big as the man was. He was actually a very nice person and very easy to get along with.  
He regarded Keirojin for a moment. For some odd reason, he had seen that man before. He couldn't quite tell where, but the guy was familiar in some what. As to where he had seen him, Shinji had no real idea.  
"So, how d'ya like boxing?" Keirojin asked, changing the subject, "For a person who really likes martial arts, that's quite a change from what you're used to, what with the fact that you can't kick,"  
"I like boxing a lot," Shinji answered, "I originally started it because I had a fascination with boxing. Later on, it was to lure this guy named Boon out to get him to challenge if I become the Champion,"  
"Oh?" Keirojin asked, interested.  
Shinji scratched his head, "I dunno the details. There's supposed to be this really wickedly powerful guy named Boon that only fights Champion-type fighters. Ranma wanted to challenge him. Since I liked boxing, he figured that if I become Champion, Boon would show up and challenge me where Ranma could then challenge him. Of course, Ranma's no longer around..."  
"Boon?" Tsuki turned his attention away from the fight and on to the two of them, "That's Keirojin's nickname. Are you sure you're not referring to him?"  
"What?" Shinji's eyes widened, "Y-y-you're Boon?"  
The man named Boon smiled, "Yep. That's me,"  
Shinji was deathly silent, trying to comprehend what he just heard.  
"I'm only referred to as Boon on my ship," Boon said, "Since Tsuki and I know each other from before I became a captain, he only refers to me by my real name and I don't mind. We go a long way back,"  
"Oh my god! You're him!" Shinji said, "Damn, it makes sense! Ippo described him as this huge guy. You fit his description but it didn't register with me until now. It was just too much of a coincidence for something like that to be true. But, obviously, it seems like it is,"  
"Can we fight?" Shinji asked, filled with excitement. Although he should be terrified of the thought of fighting someone of Boon's stature, he was more excited than anything else. If Boon was as good as he was rumored to be, then perhaps it would be like fighting Ranma.  
Boon gave Shinji an odd look. After a moment, he started laughing.  
"You wanna fight me?" Boon said, pointing to himself.  
Shinji nodded, "Yeah. Really I do,"  
Boon smiled, "Sorry, kid, but that's a no can do,"  
"Why not?" Boon tapped at his leg, "Sorry to disappoint ya, kid, but my leg's real bad. I stopped fighting a long time ago. It's time I moved on. If you were around around ten years ago, I would've been glad to fight you. But this is no longer the case. I've got a bad knee and there's nothing I can do about it. It's something I got from when I was young, around your age, and it's been with me all my life since,"  
"W-why not get surgery?" Shinji asked.  
"I don't believe in surgery," Boon said, "Sorry, but that's something I'm not gonna do,"  
Shinji felt sad.  
"Sorry to disappoint ya, kid,"

Oki won the tournament.  
The tournament was long and didn't end until near the end of the evening. In the end, Oki won the large sum of money that was the grand prize for winning the tournament.  
Everyone was gathered around Oki in the ring.  
"I won! I won!" Oki said cheerfully, jumping up and down. The money he had won will help his family's business greatly. This was the break they needed all this time.  
Shinji smiled, "Congratulations, Oki. You did really well,"  
"All thanks to you," Oki gave his best friend a hug, caught up in the joy of victory.  
The two immediately broke their embrace.  
"Hey, why're you hugging me?" Oki said, embarrassed.  
"Me? I wasn't the one that was hugging you!" Shinji said, "You were the one that was hugging me. Ah, whatever. It doesn't matter,"  
"Man, this is awesome! I won!" Oki cheered again.  
He staggered a bit.  
Shinji placed a hand on Oki to right him, "Watch it. You okay?"  
Oki nodded after a moment, "Yeah. I'm still a bit disoriented from that kick I took to the face but I'm all right,"  
"Good," Shinji smirked, "We don't wantcha dying on us. I want to be there to see your parents' happy faces when they realize you won,"  
After they were done congratulating Oki, the schools all left the auditorium to celebrate the conclusion of the tournament. Tsuki thrilled by such an exciting show of skill between both school, had offered to take everyone out for some sushi and a nearby restaurant for a post-  
tournament celebration. No one seemed to have any problems with that since Shinji and the others weren't expected to head home by train until tomorrow morning.  
As both schools walked down streets together, they mingled with one another. Despite the fact that they were from different school and training under different masters, friendships among the rivaling students were formed.  
In the front of the group was Tsuki, Boon, and Shinji. Although Shinji wasn't even half the age of Tsuki and Boon, he felt completely at ease with them, him always used to being around adults.  
"That was an excellent tournament," Tsuki said, "I hope we can do another one next year and many years to come,"  
Shinji smiled, "Same here,"

"Man, is it me or do martial arts students eat an exuberant amount of food?" Boon commented with a laugh. "What are you talking about? You're eating the most out of all of them," Tsuki said, "You're lucky I'm paying for all of this,"  
"I know, that's why I'm ordering several of the most expensive dishes on the menu," Boon laughed, "There ain't no way I'm paying for that with my own money,"  
Shinji and Tsuki laughed at the comment.  
The entire restaurant was filled with martial arts students from both school, all of them enjoying one another's company and generally having a good time. There was even a karaoke machine near the back of the restaurant where four students were singing happily, arms on each other's shoulders, slightly drunk from all the sake they had drank. Even though it was shunned upon that they drink, something like this was perfectly understandable. "If you need help paying for all of this, I'll be glad to pitch in for the bill," Shinji said, "I brought plenty of money on behalf of my school. I had planned to take everyone out to dinner after the tournament, but not to some place as expensive as a sushi restaurant,"  
Tsuki waved a dismissive hand, "Don't worry about it. Keep in mind I used to be the CEO of Aido Airline before I retired. I have plenty of money,"  
Boon smirked, "Are you sure? I'm sure I can eat enough sushi to put a good dent on that billion yen checking account balance of yours,"  
Tsuki laughed, "Go ahead and try,"  
Shinji smiled happily, glad that everyone was enjoying themselves and having a good time. "Man, this feels like Friday dinner," Shinji commented.  
"Friday dinner?" Boon asked.  
Shinji reached in to his pocket and pulled out a small photo.  
"Every Friday, I go out to dinner with a large group," he said, "This is the most recently photo. These are my friends that I go with,"  
He looked at the photo and realized that he should get a more recent one. The younger Asuka, Misato, and Ritsuko weren't in that photo. But then again, it would be kind of mean because taking a photo now would mean Ranma would not be in the photo. Boon took the photo. Despite the large hands, he handled it with such dexterity as he looked at the photo.  
Tsuki looked at it as well.  
"Hey, who's that guy?" Boon pointed toward Ranma.  
"That's Ranma," Shinji said, "He's no longer with us anymore,"  
"I've seen him before," Boon said, "What the heck's he doing in that picture?"  
Shinji scratched his head, "You've seen him before? You two met?"  
Boon nodded, "Yeah. At least I think so because this guy looks exactly like a guy I met about a year ago,"  
Shinji thought about that comment. Since he had Ranma's memories, he could recall it as if they were his own. Maybe there was some truth to what Boon was saying. Maybe he and Ranma had met because Shinji had this strange feeling that he had seen Boon somewhere before. But then again, that was because it had been Ranma that met him that made Boon seemingly familiar.  
After a moment, Shinji's eyes widened.  
"Oh my god! I remember you! You were on the bus when I...when Ranma and Jun were on their way to Tokyo!" Shinji said, pointing, "Ranma had mistaken you for a biker! He told you to move and you moved!"  
Boon's eyes widened, "You're right! That's where I saw him!"  
"Waitaminute," Shinji realized, "How is that possible? Ranma and you bumped in to each other on a totally different world during a totally different timeline,"  
"What are you two talking about?" Tsuki was confused.  
Boon gave Shinji and odd look, "How the heck did you know about my adventure on a different world?"  
"Because I was there," Shinji said, "How the heck did you get there?"  
"'Which' sent me," Boon said, "'Which' is the name of this ghost that inhabits my ship. One day, when I was talking to her, I mentioned that I wanted to take a vacation for a few days. What does she do? She sends me to this alternate world for a couple of days. How she sent me? I still dunno to this day. Afterwards, she popped up in that world and takes me back home. It was one heck of an experience," "A ghost inhabits your ship?" Shinji was skeptic.  
"Hey, I've seen some weird stuff in my life," Boon commented "How the heck did you get there?"  
"I was following after Ranma," Shinji said, "We used a mirror,"  
Boon laughed aloud, "That's funny. You used a mirror to get there. I had a ghost send me there. Which one sounds more crazy?"  
"Both," Shinji commented.  
Boon laughed again, "I agree,"  
"I'll just leave well enough alone and not ask about what you did on that world," Shinji said. He couldn't help but think about this theory that he had, that everyone is somehow connected to Ranma.  
"Likewise," Boon agreed.

Oki's family restaurant became a success after the martial arts tournament. With the money he made from the tournament, Oki invested it all in to the family business, renovating the entire restaurant, as if it now had a new lease on life.  
Shinji and all of his friends helped him out.  
They had their Friday dinner at the restaurant from then on after the renovation. And because Priss always drew attention because of her superstardom, the restaurant became very well known.  
Before long, maybe people started attending that restaurant, because if Priss liked eating there, they and Priss had something in common when they started liking eating there as well.  
The restaurant became such a success that, before long, Oki's family had to hire workers to help out. This left Oki with free time so he could train and do what he loved.  
Because Oki had more free time and was training more often, he was around the house more often. Because of his young age, he and the younger Asuka hung around together fairly often, doing stuff like going to the movies together. Although they weren't considered a couple, what with the fact that Asuka continued to hold some secret crush on Shinji, Shinji was pretty sure she would eventually lose that crush on him and start liking Oki more than just a friend.

Shinji continued on with his boxing career.  
Shortly after the martial arts tournament, he entered the Rookie Championship Tournament. He ended up winning it, defeating Ichiro Miyata in the finals. The match meant quite a bit to the both of them since Miyata and Shinji had been eager to have a rematch after that incident that had resulted in Miyata's hand getting broken. The match between the two of them had been intense. Unfortunately, in spite of how much better a fighter Miyata had gotten since his sparring session against Shinji, Shinji proved too powerful an opponent for him and he lost.  
Before long, in under a year, he became the Heavyweight Champion. Although he was a Cruiserweight initially when he started boxing, weighing within the vicinity of a hundred and ninety pounds, he had managed to gain ten more pounds of solid muscle over the years to bump his weight class up to Heavyweight.  
It was all because of the training. After he had come back from the tournament, he asked Akane to make him a new weighted vest, one that was able to support more weight.  
When he put on his new and improved weight vest, it started off weighing close to four hundred pounds. It took him a few days to get used to it but he eventually did. When he did, small amounts of weights were added to it on a daily basis. Before long, his muscle density had grown enough that he started gaining weight muscle-wise even though he remained the same size.  
Shinji retired with an almost perfect boxing career, him having had only one draw on his record, the rest of them wins by knockout. That draw came from none other than Ippo Makunouchi. The very next fight Shinji had after he had won the Championship had been against Ippo. On the day Shinji had won the Championship, he had made it know that he was going to retire. This was because he had reached his goal and the goal Akane had set for him. She had said that once he became the Champion, he could take over the Anything Goes School of Martial Arts, which she held true to her promise.  
As much as he wanted to stay around in the boxing world and defend his Championship, there was no real need. Boon would not be coming out of hiding to challenge him, Boon having stopped challenging world-class fighters long ago. It left the victory feeling a bit hollow for Shinji. That was why Shinji chose to retired after he won the Championship.  
However, before he could truly retire, he stayed around for one more fight.  
This was because he found out Ippo had come out of retirement to fight Shinji in an official fight. Although it had been an exhibition match, it was a boxing match that would be remembered for many years to come. This was because of its significance. It had represented the new versus the old. Shinji had been labeled as the modern-day Ippo. This was why it was so amazing when the boxing world found out that Ippo and Shinji would be fighting one another. It represented so much. Everyone knew Ippo trained him so it represented the fight between the student and the master. It meant a fight between experience and power, between skill and speed.  
In the end, Shinji and Ippo defeated each other, knocking each other out completely near the end of the twelfth round. Both of them had landed the knockout blows at the same time that had left both fighters unconscious.  
Shinji had found out the hard way that ever since Ippo had been defeated in his sparring match against Shinji, Ippo had trained steadfastly for the day when he would come out of retirement to step in to the ring to fight Shinji. Ippo's experience had held out against Shinji's sheer power.  
When Shinji realized he they had a draw, he felt no shame. As much as he would've liked to have won, he knew he had given it his all and was happy with the results. Oki had gone on to become the Bantamweight Champion within a short span of time as Shinji. At a hundred and sixteen pounds, Oki had been that good in his weigh class. When he became the Champion, he started wearing a weight vest much like Shinji had all the time and gained several pounds of dense muscles, jumping up a weight class to Featherweight where he would start his boxing careers all over again as a Featherweight, weighing somewhere around a hundred and twenty-  
five pounds.  
No one doubted that Oki would become the Featherweight Champion before long. All he needed was the time that it took to make his way up the ranks so he could have a fight against the Champion.  
Unfortunately, Oki would remain in the boxing world alone for Shinji and Ippo retired from boxing together that same night they fought.

Shinji approached Akane one random morning while the students were training by themselves.  
It had been a little over a year since he and everyone had come back. He and Emiko had been together all that time and continued to love each other with every passing day.  
On that particular day, Shinji wanted to buy her an engagement ring. He knew he was going to be spending the rest of his life with her. He didn't really care if he was too young to be getting married, what with him only being twenty years old, but he knew what he wanted.  
"Um, Akane," Shinji said.  
"Hm?" she smiled at him.  
"I think I wanna ask Emiko to marry me," he said.  
Akane's eyes lit up, "Really?"  
He nodded, "Yeah. The problem is that I dunno if she-"  
"Oh, she'll marry you," Akane said, "She keeps asking me when the hell you're going to ask her,"  
"R-really?"  
Akane said, "Yes. You guys have been together for over a year. You've known each other for, what, three years. It's about time you pop the question. I don't know what took you so long anyway,"  
"I dunno either," Shinji said, "But I guess now's good, right?"  
Akane nodded, "Yes. Now's definitely a good time. It'll be quite a pleasant surprise for her,"  
"There's one problem," he said, wanting to get to the subject at hand.  
"What?" she asked.  
"I have no idea what kinda ring to get her," Shinji said.  
Akane smiled, "Is that all? We can easily solve that,"  
"Really? How?"  
"Just wait right here for a moment," Akane said, leaving the dojo.  
She came back in to the dojo a few minutes later, carrying in her hands a small black box. She held it forward for Shinji to take which he did.  
"What's this?" he looked at the box.  
"Just open it," she said.  
Shinji opened the box. His eyes widened when he realize what was inside, beautiful engagement ring that looked to be worth as much as a house. The diamond sparkled brilliantly against the sunlight filtering in through the open windows of the dojo.  
"W-wow," Shinji said, awed at the sight.  
"This was the engagement ring Ranma bought Rei to pretend they were engage when they went back in time to prevent the 'Nerima Massacre'," Akane said, "Rei gave back the ring after everything was done and over with and Ranma kept it. If you think about it, this is probably the only thing that exists from Ranma's past. Sure, it's from an alternate version of his past, but it's still his past nonetheless,"  
"Y-you want me t-to have this?" Shinji asked, shocked.  
Akane nodded, "Yeah. Give this to Emiko. She'll love it. I'm sure of it,"  
"T-thanks," he said happily, "I had no idea what kinda ring to get her, but this is perfect,"  
Akane smiled happily, "It's no problem,"  
Shinji hugged Akane, "Thanks a lot, Akane. I owe you,"  
"Congratulations!" the entire class burst out in cheer.  
Shinji and Akane turned their attention toward the students. Suddenly, they realized that they must had put on quite a show for them. Since they didn't hear what they were talking about, they figured Akane had given Shinji a little black box containing the engagement ring. When he had opened it, he realized what Akane was trying to say and hugged her as he whispered something along the lines of 'Yes, I'll marry you' in to her ears.  
Akane and Shinji started to wave their hands to dismiss that notion.  
"It's not what you think!" they both said, blushing deeply.

Shinji nervously waited for Emiko in the front of the house.  
Even though Shinji had retired from pro boxing, he continued to go to Makunouchi Gym and train, Emiko going with him as well.  
He was pacing back and forth, one of his hands was in his pockets, his hand closed over the tiny black box that contained the engagement ring that Akane had given him earlier in the day.  
He was trying to think of the most romantic and best time to propose. Should he wait until Friday, during dinner, in front of the entire group. That way, he wouldn't have to tell them individually about him and Emiko had he asked her at a different time. Should he ask her privately when, say, they were jogging together? Should he take her to some fancy restaurant and ask after the meal? "Damn, what the heck am I supposed to say?" he asked himself.  
"Say what?" came Emiko's voice from behind him. Shinji was startled when he heard Emiko's voice, turning around to face her. Unfortunately, when he pulled his hands from his pocket, the little black box fell out and down on to the ground by Emiko's feet. The box ended up opening when it hit the ground and the ring fell out as well, rolling to a stop a short distance away from the open box.  
There was a moment of very awkward silence as the two of them looked down at the engagement ring.  
"I-is that-" Emiko started to say.  
Shinji quickly bent down and picked the ring up, wiping away what little dust there was on it.  
"Um, this is turning out nothing like I was expected," he said, "I was about to propose-"  
"Yes," Emiko jumped the gun.  
"Huh?" he asked.  
"Yes," she said, tears starting to form.  
"R-really?"

"So, have you asked her yet?" Akane asked Shinji when he entered the kitchen that evening after Shinji was done training at the gym. She had been busy preparing dinner for the evening.  
Shinji smiled, "Yeah, she did,"  
Akane gave a yelp of delight as she dropped what she was doing to hug Shinji, "I'm so glad!"  
"Thanks," Shinji gave a shy smile, "You were right, she did say yeah. Of course, now that I've proposed, and she said yeah, I don't really know where to go from there,"  
Akane giggled, "Well, you're supposed to decide on a date,"  
"Whatcha mean?" he asked.  
"A date for the wedding,"  
Shinji became nervous, "Man, a date for a wedding, huh? Maybe I really haven't thought this through,"  
Akane laughed, "Don't worry. Everyone'll be there to help,"  
"Thanks," he smiled. "Well, congratulations,"

Akane stood by the entrance and watched Shinji very late in the evening in the dojo. She couldn't help but admire how much Shinji had grown over the past couple of years. He was nothing like that meek, young boy Ranma brought back to his world several years ago. There was a sweet quality to him that reminded her of the way Ranma was. Shinji was going to be getting married soon. Before long, he would be starting his own family.  
She continued to watch him as he did his katas that night. Late at night was when Shinji usually trained alone, doing katas within the dojo before he would call it a day and go to sleep shortly afterwards. "Shinji," she said, stepping on the mat.  
Shinji turned his attention toward her, surprised to find out that he wasn't alone.  
"Akane, I didn't know you were there," Shinji said.  
"Can I speak to you about something?" she asked.  
Shinji nodded.  
Together, the two of them walked over to the back of the dojo where they took a seat on one of the benches that lined the walls of the dojo.  
"What is it ya wanted to tell me?" he asked curiously.  
Akane took several deep breaths, trying to think of the words.  
"First off, congratulations on the engagement," she began, wanting to use that to break the ice.  
"Thanks," he said, "It feels kinda surreal. It has yet to register in my mind that I'm now engaged,"  
"You and Emiko make a great couple," Akane commented.  
"Thanks," he said, smirking, "How come I've got the funny feeling that that wasn't what you're really here to talk to me about,"  
"That's true," she said, "Since I don't really know exactly how to go about saying it, I might as well just come out and say it. I think you're ready to take over the school,"  
Shinji's eyes widened, "R-really?"  
Akane smiled genuinely, "Yes. I've been waiting until now. When you came to me about a year ago, I didn't want you to take over the school because you were still young. Now, I know otherwise. It was your decision to get engaged to Emiko which means you believe you're ready to take that next step in your life. Therefore, if you believe you're ready to do so, then so should I,"  
"B-but I dunno if I'm ready," Shinji said nervously, "I mean I know I wanna spend the rest of my life with Emiko and all, but I don't understand how that can affect your decision to finally let me take over the school. Really, I dunno if I'm ready for everything, for all of this change,"  
"Don't worry, I know you're ready," Akane said, "I know you'll do fine. Ranma'll be proud that you're taking over the school,"  
Shinji entered his bedroom late that night.  
He felt like he was the luckiest person in the world. He would be getting married sometime in the near future to the woman he loved. For the rest of his life, he would be doing what he loved, teaching martial arts. He had accomplished the goal of becoming boxing Champion, a goal he had set out to try and achieve a long time ago. He had the greatest friends in the world, friends he would die for and would die for him.  
All in all, he was very glad to be where he was in his life. All the horrible things he had gone through seemed to have melted away, replaced by the happiness that would be his future.  
All that was left was to carry out Ranma's wish.  
Glancing toward the side, he saw Emiko was sleeping soundly on his bed. Emiko's bed was no longer in his room, having been removed a long time ago since they slept in the same bed together, but that was it. He walked over to the corner of his room and sat down in front of a desk where his computer was. He had bought that a while ago with the money he made from when he was a pro boxer. Actually, he had made enough money from boxing that he never needed to worry about money again, provided he lived a modest life for the rest of his life. Besides, money wasn't really an issue with him anymore. Since he possessed Ranma's memories, he knew where Ranma stashed all of the money he had stolen from Genom Corporation before the company went under.  
Of course, even though he had money, he didn't care. He loved teaching martial arts and would continue to teach even if he didn't need the money. He turned the computer on and waited for it to boot up. As he waited, he couldn't help but smirk as he noticed how slow his computer was. Of course, it didn't really matter much to him. What was even more amusing was that Ritsuko could give him a computer that rivaled supercomputers in his day and age since her company built computers and was the pioneering company in the world of computers.  
As he continued to wait for the computer to boot, Shinji opened up a tiny draw to the desk and took out the letter and read it again.  
'I hope Ranma is never forgotten'  
He wiped the tear from his eyes. He was going to make sure Ranma would never be forgotten. Shinji would be carrying on the Saotome name. He would be carrying on Ranma's school, which he had founded after he and Akane and Ryoga settled down in MegaTokyo. He was going to carry on the legacy Ranma had left behind had he been here. Shinji would make sure Ranma would be remembered. Now was the perfect time to start. Turning his attention to the computer, Shinji opened up a text program for writing documents. He smiled as he began to write Ranma's biography. Since he possessed Ranma's memories, he would be able to rewrite his life as if it were an autobiography. After writing the first paragraph, starting off with when and where Ranma was born, Shinji deleted what he wrote.  
"Damn, I don't wanna write it like an autobiography," Shinji muttered.  
He sat in his chair for several minutes, trying to think of a good place to start, of a good way of writing Ranma's story, so that he would be forever remembered.  
After a minute or two, Shinji smiled as he knew exactly where to start the story. He would start Ranma's story from when he first met the Knight Sabers, namely Priss.  
He began writing the first paragraph:

-  
"Hiryu Shoten Ha!" Ranma shouted as he released a massive hurricane blast toward the dark blue boomer hovering high above him, "You ain't gonna get away that easily,"

The end for now

Yes, this is the end of my 'Just Won't Die' series. I hope you guys liked this series. Then again, if you're reading this, then that must mean you like this series enough since that meant you've read through around, what, 9+megs of text (If you include reading my optional 'The least one can do' story) all the way until the end. Heh, didja expect that ending? Didja expect the ending to start off with the opening paragraph to 'Just Won't Die 1'? Do you know what that means? This whole series was one huge self-insertion!^_^ I've been working on this series for several years, and now, finally, it has come to an end. And what's funny is that this series came about STRICTLY from my wanting to write a fight scene between Ranma and the Knight Sabers. Anyway, I'm sorry if you want it to continued, but I think that's it for me. This series has gone on for too long and it's time that I move on to something different. Keep in mind that I could've ended this series at the end of 'Just Won't Die Final' but I continued on with two more chapters :)  
I've learned a lot from writing this series so, in case I start another series from scratch, all my writing experiences will be ported over to that new series.  
Comments are very welcomed. Please email me: .

"Urd,"  
Urd turned toward Ranma, "What is it, Ranma?"  
"Can you send me back?" he asked.  
The comment surprised Urd immensely, "Really? You want to live again?"  
Ranma nodded, "Yeah, can you do that for me?"  
"Of course," she said, "But whatever for?"  
"I made a promise to a little girl named Jun," he answered, "I don't wanna break that promise,"  
Urd smirked, "That's very sweet of you, Ranma. That's what I really like about you,"  
"So will you do it?" he asked.  
"Sure," she smiled.  
"Thanks,"

The end


End file.
